


Blooming in Concrete

by Yojimbra



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Depression, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Genderbending, Genderswap, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-05-23 18:29:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14939571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yojimbra/pseuds/Yojimbra
Summary: Relationships in Anbu were forbidden. But Itachi felt something for her partner fox that was a bit more than companionship. Now out of Anbu her little sister brings home a blond man called Naruto, that sounds dangerously like her Fox. Naruto, fem Itachi, fem Sasuke





	1. Chapter 1

The white unblemished porcelain of her mother’s fine china glistened in the stream of hot water. Her hands, already pruning from the last fifteen minutes of, ran across its surface marveling at its smooth unblemished surface. It was the kind of dish that was too pristine to use outside of special events. When was the last time this dish had been used? Not since she joined Anbu nearly ten years ago. 

That felt like another life to her. One where her family measured in the hundreds, instead of the two it was now. She began to hum that soft melody her mother would when she did the dishes, a perfect replication that lacked the beauty her mother put into it. Sasuke knew the tune as well but, she rarely sang it. The dishes were always done after all. 

Sometimes when their father wasn’t busy leading the clan, or even when he was, he would come and help their mother put away the dishes. It was at those time that her mother’s hum would change turning into a duet as her father joined with his own low almost grumble like humming. There was no one to help her, even if Sasuke was home her sister rarely touched the dishes. 

She had had that duet once, that harmony between souls, that her mother and father had once had. But that felt like a lifetime ago. Anbu was like that. It was another world hidden from this one that had its own rules, there were no laws, just failures. The only thing that mattered was the mission and the ability to do it. She was a tool of the Hokage, his scalpel for removing the unseen threats to Konoha. 

That life seemed as far away from her as the one with her parents.

With the last of the dishes put away, Itachi dried her hands; the yard work was done, the laundry was hanging on the close line - just like her mother used to do - the house clean, the pantry stocked, everything was as it should be in that horribly mundane way. This was her third life, a life filled with nothing but time. 

She walked down the hall, filled with portraits of their family, her favorite being one of just her father’s girls, her mother had Sasuke on her lap while she stood off to the side, they all had just wonderful smiles on their face. The last time she had smiled like that was in Anbu. It was also that last time she had seen him. 

She should read a book, watch the television, go outside, do something with all this free time she had. Anything but sit around and remember the past all day. Sasuke said it wasn’t good for her to stay inside all day, and she knew her sister was right. But outside of keeping up with her shinobi abilities and running errands, she had no reason to leave the house. And so she did the same thing she did every day until Sasuke came home. 

The box of her past was small and mostly empty. A few mementos of her happy moments, most of them were from her time in Anbu when she had a purpose. Her mask - or at least a replicate of it - sat in the middle of the pile, her time as Weasel lasted for ten years and she did not choose its ending. The ancient shark’s tooth that Fox had given her on one of their missions rested below it. A ring from Shisui, a drawing from Sasuke. And Fox’s favorite kunai, it looked like any other Kunai save for the red around the hand grip, it was her favorite color. 

“Maybe, I should dye my hair?” Her voice broke the silence that had been cultivated into the home for generations. That would get her out of her house, and give her something to do. Besides, it would be his favorite color. A beacon for him. Or not. Where would she even go for something like that? Sasuke wouldn’t know, her sister was only slightly less helpless than she was when it came to being normal. 

Perhaps her Sister’s teammate might be of assistance. She appeared to be at least somewhat in touch with her feminine side, just one way her father got his wish for two boys. 

The rough porcelain of her mask was cold and welcoming, it begged her to put it on once again - to become Weasel again - despite what her Hokage said. She understood her retirement, her being placed back into the ranks of shinobi as a jounin. It was just another mission, the longest one she’d ever be on. It was one she didn’t know if she could accomplish before it killed her. 

Temptation coursed through her, to put the mask on once more. To be Weasel one last time. To when things were simple for her. But that was a different life and this wasn’t her mask. It was just another memory that she’d be better off forgetting. 

“Itachi?” Sasuke’s voice called from the living room. Was she back already? She thought she had at least until five. “What?” her sister’s voice whispered harshly. “Yes, you can come in, I said you could, quit standing there like an idiot.” 

Sasuke had company over? That was rare. Sure since she had fully come back into Sasuke’s life she had met a few of her sister’s teammate but much like herself, Sasuke was simply incompetent when it came to human interactions. Had it not been for her sister’s foul temper she would have made an excellent Anbu member. 

With her box put away in a hurry, Itachi walked towards the commotion. She saw the clock that hung above the mantle that read a quarter past five, had she spent really spent that much time remising? Placing a hand on the corner Itachi put on her best smile and greeted her sister. “Sasuke? Did you bring a guest?” 

Her sister was every bit the shinobi that she was when she was younger - before Itachi joined the Anbu before their clan was killed - she had been a happy child that wanted nothing more than to laugh and play. Sasuke had inherited their mother’s beauty, with short black hair that came to her shoulders, a charming face that was marred by what she had heard one unpleasant Inuzuka call ‘resting bitch face’.

Sasuke also had the unique talent of looking incredibly annoyed even when she was happy, such as right now as she stood in the doorway arms crossed glaring at whoever had yet to enter the house. “Not if he doesn’t hurry up and get his ass in here. You’re the one that wanted to come over you idiot.” 

Itachi couldn’t help but laugh, human interaction really isn't their strong suit. “Sasuke, if they’re our guest are you sure you should be talking to him like that. But aren’t you going to introduce me?” 

She stepped fully into the living room finally getting a good look at the man that her sister had brought home. He was tall, blonde haired, man that had a charming smile. And then there were his blue eyes, it felt like she had seen them a thousand times before in another lifetime.

“Fine, loser this is Itachi, my older Sister,” Sasuke gestured at her with a flippant attitude like she was doing this specifically to appease her. She gestured at the man that kept smiling in the doorway slapping him in the chest hard enough to make him grunt. “And this is Naruto Uzumaki,” she groaned looking rather like she had just eaten a sour lemon. “My boyfriend.” 

“Hey, you don’t have to sound so unhappy about it Sasuke.” Naruto laughed. She had heard that voice before. She had heard that voice a thousand times over again in her last life and in her dreams. But it couldn’t be him. “Nice to meet you Itachi, sorry for coming over unannounced.”

He stepped into the room and closed the distance between them. He was exactly four and three-quarter inches taller than her, he led with his left foot, his shoulders were wide, all things that pointed to Naruto being him. Being Fox. But that couldn’t be Fox didn’t have blonde hair, Fox was still in Anbu. Fox didn’t belong in this life. 

“Itachi?” Sasuke’s voice brought her back to the here and now. “You okay?”

“Oh, yes. I’m very alright. I’m just a little shocked that you came home with a boyfriend.” Especially one that was so like Fox. “Are you two staying for dinner?” 

“Yes please!” Naruto chirped, jumping like he was a twelve year old. “Would you like some help in the kitchen?” 

Sasuke snorted. “Settle down, just because you’re getting a free meal is no reason to be so excited.” 

“That would be wonderful.” Itachi smiled, there was no way that this was Fox. It was just impossible.


	2. Chapter 2

With each passing glance Naruto became less like Fox, and more like Fox. There were obvious things like his hair, the way he stood, and how he held a knife, all those glaring offenses combined with the way he talked shouted that Naruto was not fox. But the small things whispered that he was fox, they were few and could only be seen when she wasn’t looking for them. But they were there. 

The last time she had cooked for someone was the last time she had cooked with someone. It was for their father’s birthday, Sasuke might have been to young to pick up on the lessons that their mother had tried to teach them in kitchen, though more likely her sisters ineptitude in the kitchen had already taken root. 

Itachi blinked and looked at the ingredients sat out before her, the vegetables that Naruto was cutting, the water Sasuke was bringing to a boil. They were cooking the last meal that she had made with her mother. A simple curry that was their father’s favorite. 

“Umm, Itachi?” Naruto asked, a nervous laugh punctuating his sentence - something Fox never did - and a soft smile on his lips with blue eyes that did not belong in the uchiha household of old. She looked at him and the vegetables that were half way cut. “Is there a reason why you keep looking over at me?”

“It’s not everyday that she sees someone as stupid as you.” Sasuke’s barb was delivered without mercy, on a target that didn’t deserve it. 

Naruto whined, “Sasuke, I thought you told me to give her a good impression, how is calling me stupid helping that.” 

Her sister just shrugged dumping in just a bit too much rice for the amount of water they were boiling, that could be fixed though. Rice was easy. Sasuke could do rice. She did Rice and take out for nearly ten years. “There’s no point in trying to hide what you are Naruto, she’d find out eventually.” 

This did not feel like a normal relationship. Their parents had a reserved relationship that enjoyed silence and company above all else. Silence on its own was a terrible thing, a reminder of solitude and isolation, but silence with company, with love, was something unique like life was taking a deep breath. 

“Does that mean we should tell her how you confessed to me?” 

Her hand snapped back, catching the butter knife that Sasuke had decided to use as a Kunai on her boyfriend. This did not seem like a healthy relationship, but then there was a that blush on her sisters face she’d never seen her sister that embarrassed. 

“Nice catch,” Naruto muttered under his breath. 

“She didn’t need to know that,” Sasuke hissed. Her eyes were narrowed to the point of a fine dagger that was trying to cut away at Naruto’s resolve. Somehow Itachi felt like standing between these two was not the best idea for a peaceful domestic life. 

Naruto’s smile didn’t falter. “Can she know that I love you.”

Sasuke looked like the boiling water had just been dumped on her, her cheeks to the tips of her ears turned a shade of pink that clashed with her fair complexion. “Whatever, do what you want.” 

Was her sister a what was it called again? Tsundere? Yes, that sounded right. Itachi smiled to herself using the knife her sister had so generously given her to slice the chicken in two. She knew what a tsundere was, that meant that she wasn’t a complete social failure. “Sasuke, could you please sit the table? Use the dishes in the top shelf.” 

“What? For him? You realize he’ll think anything that isn’t made of paper is the fancy stuff right?” Sasuke snorted, but despite her protests still walked over to the dishes. 

“Absolutely, we have a guest over, no point in having them if we don’t use them.” She didn’t look away from the prep work. Her mother rarely looked up, expecting each and every command in the kitchen to be carried out like a mission directly from the Hokage. 

She heard Sasuke mumble something unintelligible before the clattering of dishes could be heard. Her attention still on the chicken, cutting the breast exactly how her mother had showed her, slicing with the muscle for long easy cuts that would melt into the curry sauce while still providing just the right texture. 

Naruto’s cutting resumed a slow even method that sounded more patient than what he could manage. If she closed her eyes it was easy to picture Fox standing there as he was just before she left Anbu, and him. She would have stayed longer if she could but ten years was the maximum the Hokage would allow someone to stay in Anbu, at least those were the new rules. 

It was easy to remind herself that this wasn’t Fox, she shouldn’t need the constant reminders. Maybe he was related to Fox? It would explain the height and build similarities. Maybe Naruto could lead her to Fox. No, that was silly, Fox was still in Anbu. 

“You hold your knife like a pen,” She said once Naruto had stopped cutting. 

“Huh?” He turned to her, eyebrow raised in confusion as he looked at his hand. “I do?” 

“It’s why I was looking at you earlier.” Liar. It was because he looked so much like Fox. “It didn’t seem to affect the way you cut vegetables so I didn’t bother telling you.” 

He looked at the knife and smiled. “Oh uhh well I was never really taught how to hold a knife ya’know I just do what feels comfortable.” 

Itachi nodded turning her attention back to the cooking. Social interaction complete. Was this small talk? It was easier than she thought it would be. But what came next? “When did you and my sister meet?” 

“Technically we met wayback at the academy, but she didn’t exactly like me back then and kept picking on me and calling me stupid. Kind of like now actually.” Naruto scratched his cheek giving her a small laugh. 

“Ahh, you’re the one that Sasuke would come home and complain about,” Itachi chuckled into her hand. “There was always something about a stupid blond boy that didn’t know the first thing about being a ninja.” 

“She talked about me back then?” His face scrunched up and he took a half step back. Then he spun the knife in his hand the same way that Fox would a Kunai during a mission briefing he didn’t agree with. No, it wasn’t Fox. Fox, was still in Anbu. Naruto leaned out to look out into the dining room. “Hey Sasuke you didn’t have a crush on me in the academy did you?” 

Fox also wasn’t that loud. 

She could hear Sasuke blushing through the wall. “As if! who would like a fat headed loser like you?”

Naruto turned to her grinning ear to ear. “Hehe, neat. She did have a crush on me. But we really got to know each other when we were put on the same team.”

“Then why haven’t I met you before now?” Oil poured, sauce cooking, spices added, rice to water ratio corrected. Aside from her being in the anbu for most of the time that they’d have been a team, should have met Naruto. She had met Sakura and kakashi a number of times, but there was almost no mention of Naruto. 

“That’s because he got back from training with Jiraiya for eight years about six months ago.” Sasuke came into the kitchen to acquire more dishes. And glare, something that she must have picked up from their father. “And you were gone at the fire capitol when we were genin so you two never really met.” 

The fire capitol, that was her cover for being in Anbu. 

“Ahh, that makes sense,” Naruto hummed. 

“Do you have any family?” She asked, that was the right thing to ask right? The Sasuke had all but answered their conversation so naturally a new topic must be brought up. And perhaps she could find Fox through Naruto. 

Instead it looked like she had stuck a knife deep into the heart of the mood and twisted it. Naruto’s smile all but vanished, and his hand fell towards his stomach. Just like Fox did. “I mean, I have my friends, and Sasuke, Granny and the Pervy-sage too. But my parents were killed the night I was born by the Kyuubi.” 

Now she knew his birthday at least. But that also eliminated any chance of Naruto being related to Fox. It was for the best, Fox still had nearly two years left before he would be forced out of Anbu. She could just wait for him until he got out. But what if Naruto was fox? What if training with Jiraiya was his cover? Or was she just grasping at straws? 

“Naruto,” The harshness that had once been like a barb in Sasuke’s voice was replaced by a softness that Itachi had only heard a few times. She sounded so much like their mother, even the way she stood, placing a hand on Naruto’s arm to comfort him. The way she leaned in to kiss him was just like her mother did whenever their father was in a mood. “I’m here for you. Now and forever.” 

A pang ran through her heart and the hair on the back of her neck stood on edge. Sasuke stood there kissing Fox on the cheek right in front of her, pretending that she didn’t even exist. A breath and Naruto stood where Fox was, smiling with love at Sasuke. Even if Naruto was Fox, Naruto loved her sister now. 

That shouldn’t matter though. She just missed Fox. She wanted him back into her life. It wasn’t love that she felt towards Fox, just faith and companionship. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t what her parents had. It wasn’t what Sasuke and Naruto had. It was a relationship forged around being the only person she could rely on for nearly seven years.

And it was that bond that she felt with Naruto, though it was dull and distant, an echo of what it was with Fox. She needed to prove that he was Fox, or prove that he wasn’t.


	3. Chapter 3

“Weasel.” The command was spoken, not whispered, which for an Anbu it was as loud as a shout. The commander, Ape stood tall, his black hair peppered with flecks of grey along the sideburns that stuck out from his Mask, his imposing figure all but occupied the empty door frame. 

Without a sound, she stood to greet her commander. It was unusual for Ape to address her directly, let alone visit her in her resting room, it was a small room, barely big enough for a bed and belongings. “Yes, commander?” 

With a grunt Ape stepped to the side, presenting a young boy with black hair wearing a fox mask. He couldn’t have been much older than she was when she first joined Anbu, he was thin and on the short side as well. Why was he here? “This is Fox. From this day forward he will be your partner.” 

“A boy?” The question slipped from her mouth. 

“Yes, he is a capable ninja and has already gone through the Anbu training, you two will work well together. Your next mission will begin in an hour.” 

Weasel looked towards the small black haired boy that was now her partner, behind the fox mask was a pair of blue eyes that reminded her of the sky. 

“Itachi!” Naruto snapped her fingers in front of her face, jolting her from her thoughts. Those same blue eyes now stared at her with an unflinching warmth. It was almost uncanny how similar Fox and Naruto’s eyes made her feel. 

Still, she shook her head and brought a smile up. “Oh, yes what is it?” 

“You were staring off into space for like a minute,” Naruto laughed, spooning at the curry and rice that they had made. For someone that could reportedly eat his own weight in ramen, he was a rather light eater it seemed. Sasuke’s own plate was half empty, as she made her social graces known by all but shoveling the food into her mouth. She ate like she didn’t feed her. 

“Oh,” She blinked twice. “I was just thinking about something is all.” 

The glass of tea next to Naruto was nearly empty, save for a few ice cubes stained brown by the tea, while Sasuke’s was barely touched. Ahh, that explained it, the Uchiha palette tended to favor spicy foods. Evidently, Naruto’s did not. “I’m sorry Naruto, did I make it to spicy for you?”

Naruto looked at his plate, lips slightly puffy, a bit of sweat on his brow. “Uhh, no I’m just uhh savoring it cause it's so good.” 

“Liar,” Sasuke shot from his left, still working at her plate like it was the first time she’d been fed in a year. 

Itachi laughed and opened the rice pot a light plume of steam rising from it. She took a large spoonful and plopped it into the middle of her plate. “The best way to make curry less spicy is to add a bit more rice, milk, and cheese work as well but that alters the taste. I tend to prefer sweet things myself.” 

“Don’t help him,” Sasuke gave a smirk, spooning an extra helping of curry on her plate. No, really did she not eat today? “I want to watch him suffer.” 

“I’m certain he suffers more than enough when you’re around.” Sometimes, it was good to remind her sister that she could play with fire too. Sasuke glare just made things all the better.

Naruto took a bite of the curry with an extra helping of rice to cool it off, and his face split into a giant smile. “Oh, this is super good now! Sasuke! Your Sister is an amazing cook! Why can’t you cook like this?” 

“Shut up.” Sasuke’s growl came out as a muffled gargle as she stuffed her face in shame. 

“So, Naruto, you were trained by Jiraiya of the Sannin right?” Itachi stirred her curry for lack of anything better to do. There had to be a link between Naruto and Fox, a training trip was a great cover for Anbu service, even if the timescale didn’t exactly match up with Fox. But so much of Naruto did. 

Naruto nodded, the spoon sticking out of his mouth bobbed up and down like he was a kid sucking on a candy. His childishness would be out of place in Anbu. Naruto took the spoon the spoon out of his mouth with a pop, already scooping up another bite of Curry. “Yep! The Pervy-Sage taught me a lot of stuff.” 

“I had thought that Jiraiya refused to take another apprentice, ” Perhaps she was getting a hang of this small talk stuff. It was easier if she had a goal it seemed. “How did you manage to convince him?” 

“He showed up at my apartment drunk and said that I was his apprentice now.” Naruto shrugged into another spoonful of Curry. “He also stole my wallet, and said that I owed him rent money.” 

The casual honesty in his voice gave her pause. Was he serious? Or was this sarcasm? It wasn’t Sasuke’s brand of sarcasm that was painfully obvious, that much was certain. As unlikely as it was, there was no way that an Anbu would give such a cover, it was too unlikely, too simple, too unique. Then again, Tsunade had also taken an apprentice. 

“I see.” An unlikely story though difficult to dispute due to lack of witnesses, furthermore the only people that could say otherwise were high ranking and powerful Konoha shinobi. But there had to be a hole somewhere. “Where did you go on your training trip?” 

“Why are you interrogating my boyfriend?” Her little sister leaned forward placing elbow on the table, with one eyebrow raised, the same vicious scowl on her face that she wore when something really pissed her off. 

“Interrogating? No, I was just making small talk.” Itachi sat back in her chair correcting her posture out of pure habit, shoulders back eyes forward, hands folded in front of her. Was she really doing so bad? Perhaps there was more to casual conversation than she first thought. 

Sasuke snorted, turning her attention back to her food. “If it was anybody else I wouldn’t believe them.” 

“It’s okay, I don’t mind being the center of attention,” Naruto announced, arms stretched out wide like he was making a grand entrance on a stage. The tight muscles around his arms flexed like a snake coiling around its prey. There were other clues to Anbu status, physical marks, the small seal turned tattoo on her upper arm was one such clue, Fox would have one somewhere as well. But it could be anywhere. There was a small mark on Fox’s forearm, barely a ghost of a wound that was far from being called a scar. 

She had treated that wound, no. that wasn’t right, Fox’s wound had been far too deep for a scar like that to form. But the shape and position were almost right. “Where did you get that scar?”

“Huh?” Naruto looked at his arm in confusion, grabbing and twisting the skin to get a better look at the long forgotten wound. “Oh uhh, I honestly don’t remember, I get hurt a lot. Fast healer too, part of being an Uzumaki apparently.” 

“If he wasn’t his clumsiness would have killed him years ago.” Sasuke rolled her eyes already halfway through her second helping. 

“What about you, what’d you do in the fire capital?” Naruto’s smile was hard to place, it was filled with self-satisfaction like he had just got the upper hand in a game of chest. 

Her spoon clanged against the empty portion of her plate, only a third remained of her curry. “It really wasn’t eventful, I just spent a great deal of time honing my skills while protecting the Lord of Fire.”

Naruto leaned in with a smirk that showed off far too many teeth and a twinkle in his eyes that sparked a long-forgotten sense of excitement in her. It was the thrill of an exciting mission, the last time she felt this was the last time she had seen Fox. “I’m not going to let you weasel your way out of this.” 

It took all she had not to gasp. Fox had said that to her before. Many times. Over and over again whenever he was trying to get her to talk. At first, she thought it was stupid, but even now as it had done so many times in the past, it put a smile on her face. With a breath, she gathered herself, “If you must know, I thwarted twenty-seven assassination attempts, against the Lord of Fire and his Family, with one instance where I pretended to be his daughter so that she could get out of a courtship.” 

“I didn’t know about that,” Sasuke sat up straight again, her plate clear of food. “How did that go?” 

“It didn’t.” There was very little to talk about, the young lordling, well at the time he was older than her, went on for hours about how amazing he was, how beautiful she was, and how great their kids would be. There was a reason why she had been called an Ice Queen in her youth. Perhaps that was a title that still applied now. 

Naruto and Sasuke shared a groan, both lowering their heads in a collective disappointment. 

Was it her turn to ask a question now? Should she ask if Naruto had any tattoos? Or bring up his journey again? “So, what made you come over for dinner?” It was a question to give her more time, if she could get him to stay longer she’d be able to gather more information. She wouldn’t be satisfied until Naruto’s identity was certain. 

Even if all the evidence so far told her that he wasn’t Fox, something in the back of her head told her otherwise. But what would it mean if he was? 

“Actually, we uhh didn’t come over for dinner, that was just a bonus.” Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head. “You see, uhh how do I put this?”

“This Idiot.” Sasuke stuck her thumb into Naruto’s chest causing him to deflate a bit. “Has been living in an apartment infested with black mold, I’m not joking when I say that there was more mold than wood in some places. For some reason, he decided to try and hide it from everybody because it’d be to much trouble. As of now, his building is condemned and all of his stuff along with it. Basically, he’s homeless and I offered to let him stay with us.” 

Itachi blinked. Well, that seemed rather convenient. “I see, well we can set him up in the guest room.” It was clean, just underutilized. The last time they had a guest was over a decade ago. Unless Sasuke had a slumber party while she was away, but that was highly unlikely. As unlikely as Naruto being in Anbu. 

“Actually,” Sasuke turned red. “That won’t be needed, he’ll be staying with me. In my room.” 

Itachi blinked, “Oh, I wasn’t aware you were that far in your relationship.” 

“It’s not like that!” Sasuke slammed her hands on the table. “We’ll just be sharing a bed is all!” 

Naruto smiled. “It’s like that.” 

“You’re sleeping on the floor.”


	4. Chapter 4

In five minutes it would be five in the morning, the sun would rise at a quarter past five and Sasuke would be out of bed in approximately three hours and be fully awake in four hours. Itachi let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she could get up now, but there was nothing to do, the dishes were done, the laundry was also done, the floors were clean, the pantry stocked, garbage out, bathroom clean, everything and anything she did on a weekly basis was complete. All she had today was to rest. 

Which meant she could lay in the bed and recount the individual grains of wood that made up her ceiling - 147,523, and five knots - in that poor excuse of rest she called sleep. It was common in Anbu to get as much rest in as little time as possible, beyond everything else she could claim mastery of avoiding sleep reigned supreme. If she never slept, she’d never dream. 

Her heart rate quickened, those images blurring into her mind, seeping into the wood and gnawing at her bones like a thousand rats trying to feast on her marrow. It wasn’t real. It was just a dream. Nothing like that happened. Her parents were killed by the masked man while she was still in Anbu. 

It didn’t stop, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. 

Enough rest. She was dressed and out the door before her clocked ticked over to five. The door to Sasuke’s room was shut, a rarity for her little sister, but with F- Naruto living in there, their privacy would be more important. Shame, a sleeping target would be easier to examine for an Anbu tattoo. He did seem like a heavy sleeper. 

What was she to do until they woke up, and what would she do once they left? Reading a book and doing nothing left a sour taste in her mouth that she could feel in every part of her body. She needed to do something, anything to keep herself busy. Perhaps the dishes again? 

The stillness of her morning was disturbed when a sound came from the yard. It was too loud to be a rodent, perhaps a dog or one of the Nara’s deer got into town and was looking for a free meal, her mother’s garden was currently filled with a variety of weeds. That could be a task, but previous seasons had proven that she lacked the ability her mother once had. 

There it was that noise again. 

Curiosity drove her more than caution. With her hair now in the same ponytail she had worn for years she looked out the kitchen window positioned just behind the sink, her mother had it put in when she was young to get a better view of the garden. Elbow deep into the garden beds, a sloppy pile of weeds on either side of him was Naruto, dressed in pants and a black shirt that was closer to skin that went all the way down to his wrists. 

What was he doing up so early? He seemed like he was the kind of person that would sleep in more than Sasuke did, let alone be up earlier than her, and already messing with her mother’s garden. Though messing was perhaps not the correct choice of words, it was already a mess, to begin with. One of the few areas she hadn’t brought herself to touch. The clocked ticked, signaling that she had been watching Naruto pull weeds for nearly fifteen minutes. 

She turned her eyes back to him and turned towards the door. She’d need gloves and her shoes. Gilding along the hard wooden floor towards the entrance way Itachi was brought to a pause. Her shoes weren’t in their spot, they were offset displaced by Naruto’s shoes. Different, but it wouldn’t deter her, with Sasuke asleep it was a perfect chance to learn more about Naruto.

And delve into things that would reveal if he was Fox. 

She just needed one single scrap of proof. The slightest inkling. 

With her boots on, she entered the garden, ready and willing to assist Naruto in the garden. Perhaps he’d even be willing to accompany her to the market in search of seeds. And a book on gardening. The prospect excited her. 

“Good morning Naruto,” She kneeled down on the other side of the garden bed, grabbing a tangled mass of plants. 

Naruto jumped and looked up at her wide-eyed. “Oh, uhh good morning Itachi!” He shouted into a yawn. “You’re uhh up early.” 

“And yet you already have an hours work, I did not think you to be an early riser.” The weeds were stubborn, thick and gnarled things with roots that choked the very earth. It would almost be easier just to burn them down and make new ones. Had they not been her mothers she might have done that years ago. 

Naruto just laughed, scratching the back of his head, it was then that she saw the bags under his eyes, the slight sluggishness in his movements. The two empty garden beds that were hidden from the kitchen window. 

“You didn’t sleep did you?” It was less a question and more a statement of the obvious. “Why?” 

He shrugged trying to laugh it off. “Call it an overabundance of energy.” A half-truth, “I tried to sleep next to Sasuke, but I’m just too restless, so I came out here and decided to do something productive. What about you?” 

“I don’t sleep much,” another half-truth. The blood of her mother slid down her blade like a crimson serpent seeking to sink its fangs into her hand. “Your abundance of energy must have made certain missions easy.” 

Fox was the same, often going for days without sleep. 

“Not really, I never got those kinds of missions, mostly because I can’t sit still either,” He laughed flexing his hands. “Was a pain in the butt when I had to meditate to learn Sage Mode.” 

“Sage mode?” The name was unfamiliar to her. Fox certainly never had a technique like that, all of his techniques were basic. But what he lacked in diversity he made up for it in tenacity and ingenuity. “Is it some kind of a Kekkei Genkai?”

“What? No? It’s kind of like a uh, wait! I can just show you so uhh give me a second, it’s pretty neat!” He crossed his legs and closed his eyes. The effect was immediate, chakra, visible to the naked eye, began to gather around him, coming from all over and covering his body like a thick pollen that would choke him. He opened his eyes, they were frog-like? “Well? Pretty cool right?” 

“It umm, looks impressive?” The chakra was certainly unique, and it wasn’t anything she had seen Fox use, but it could easily have been a technique he never needed to use or one he developed recently. “When did you learn it?” 

“Oh! The Pervy-Sage taught me on our trip like three years ago? I forget exactly when, I kind of lost track of time at the frog mountain.” He said all that completely straight-faced, well he was grinning like a dufus. 

“Frog mountain?” Her lips twitched upwards at the name, a weakness in his cover story perhaps? “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that mountain where’s it at.” 

“The toads would probably get mad me for calling it the froggy mountain, but I think it was called Myoboku? It’s the sacred mountains for the toads me and the Pervy-sage summon, so I don’t really know where it is, but I can go there by summoning a toad and asking.” He shuddered like it had dropped twenty degrees. “Though I did almost turn into a toad a few times.”

That did make sense, Jiraiya was known for summoning toads. Sadly she lacked the geographical knowledge to call him out, nor was her knowledge of summoning up to par. She had a crow. “Did you spend all your time training there?” 

“Nah, I don’t think so. We mostly walked around, he kept trying to peep on peek on women instead of training me. Was really annoying, but I got really strong because of him.” Naruto resumed plucking out the weeds, easily pulling out their roots with one strong pull, a vast improvement over the shutes she was pulling up. “I can do neat stuff like make a really big Rasengan, and umm, break out of a genjutsu.” 

“You don’t need powerful jutsu to be strong,” Itachi hummed, mimicking the way Naruto pulled the weed and was rewarded with a lump of dirt held together by roots. “But I don’t understand why you would travel to train, wouldn’t it have been more efficient to stay in the village, aside from going to Froggy Mountain that is?”

He gave a soft snort at her using that name, quite pleased with himself. “Well, I think part of it was that the Pervy Sage can’t stay still for very long, he’s restless like that, as much as he loves Konoha, he loves traveling even more.”

“And what about you?” The question had no other purpose other than to satisfy her curiosity. 

“Konoha is my home,” his answer was simple, pure, ideal like he was just stating the obvious. But the fire in his eyes when he said that was enough to send a shiver down her spine. She had heard that before, from another person, with those same blue eyes. “Besides, once I become Hokage I won’t be able to travel as much.” 

She smiled. The desire to become Hokage was not foreign to her, few ninja could look up at that mountain and not picture themselves on it. Though her time in Anbu had dulled that desire from a campfire to little more than a candle in a window. “An admirable goal.” 

“What about you? Do you like to travel? What kind of Jutsu do you know? Is it like Sasuke with the magic eyeball stuff?” He asked, leaning forward more with each question until he was on his knees, using his hands to hold his upper body over the garden bed. 

Which question was she supposed to answer first? Why was he so close? What was she supposed to do? She stared at him, eyes wide, back straight, fists balled on her lap. Deep even breaths. Fox never asked more than one question at a time. Information was expected to be given in full in Anbu, loud and clear for all those that needed to hear. 

Did she like to travel? She hadn’t been out of the village in years, “I don’t think I like to travel, I used to want to be the Hokage, but now I’m unsure, as for my techniques, I’m well versed in genjutsu, and fire jutsu, though my Magic Eyeball Stuff is different from my sisters.” 

“Oh,” He sat down. Her cheeks felt warm in the early morning sun. It made her sound boring, tired, and old. But what would she do if she traveled? Go and see places? Eat food? Talk to people? She had no desire to do those things, besides, there was always more to do at home. 

Naruto stood a giant smile on his face like he was trying to show off all of his teeth. “Oh hey! I know! Why don’t me, you, and Sasuke go somewhere! Its summer so I know a really good lake we can go to, and swim and eat barbeque and do other lake stuff, it’ll be like a family trip or something!” 

Swim? That would mean Naruto would be shirtless a perfect chance to try and find his Anbu tattoo. But at the same time, that would be leaving the house. “I, I don’t know. I don’t have a swimsuit, and I don’t think that Sasuke would want to do something like that.”

“Please! I can beg Sasuke too! It’d be fun! You’ll see!” He grabbed her hands the gloves got in the way from feeling his hands, but his grip was strong. “I can beg Sasuke, she’ll call me an idiot and say some mean stuff but I can get her to do this”

Why was he so desperate for this? “Very well, but only if Sasuke agrees.” 

“Yahoo! Okay, just hold that thought I’ll be right back with Sasuke!” He sprinted for the house but stopped at the doorway. “Actually I should probably wait until she wakes up on her own.” 

“That would be wise, besides we still have a few more weeds to pull do we not?” His smile was contagious.


	5. Chapter 5

Bzzzzz

Smack

Bzzzz

“Why the hell did I agree to this?” Sasuke shouted as yet another curious insect made it’s way over to her only to vanquished by the paper fan she had brought with her. But for each one she vanquished two more took its place. “Better question; How the hell did you talk me into this?”

“Because I’m a ray of mother fucking sunshine and I shit rainbows?” Naruto smiled from ahead of them shouldering most of their supplies like it was no big deal, he had an ice chest under one arm that sloshed with liquid, and the blankets and umbrellas rolled under the other while he also carried their bags. Most of it was because he all but demanded to carry it, then Sasuke decided to punish him for being a dumbass by putting more on top of him. So far, he hadn’t even complained. 

Sasuke snorted, crossing her arms and swatting away another insect that dared to wander to close to her. “At least you know what you are.” 

The outside wall of Konoha acted as an abrupt end to their horizon as it’s pale wall continued to bake in the sun. This was the furthest she had been out of Konoha since her last Anbu mission. Fox was there clutching at the wound along his stomach, it was deep and blood was everywhere, but he’d live, this was nothing to him. 

Their fo,e a tyrannical ninja from a minor village stood across from them shouting about purity, life, traitors, and that nothing could stop him. But his voice was drowned out by the rain in the background that soaked his decrypted city. They weren’t heroes, his people loved if not worshiped him. But he was an enemy of Konoha and needed to be dealt with. Where was he from again?

A barb stuck into her mind forced her away from the thought. It didn’t matter, he was dead defeated by her and Fox. That was her last mission with Fox. Despite his wounds he ended up carrying her halfway back to Konoha, maybe more, the rest was fuzzy, painful, like a scar in her memory up until her being reunited with her sister once again. 

Those were tears she would never forget. Enough to make her question if her staying in Anbu was the right choice, so close to her family that so needed her, but so far away. No, it was. It had to be, of that she was certain, there was no other way. It had to be done. 

“Itachi?” Sasuke’s voice echoed into the corner of her mind, it was the shove to the elbow that snapped her back to the forefront. The usual scowl on her sister's face was gone, replaced by one of concern. She had come a long way, though much of that was thanks to Naruto. “You’re quieter than usual.” 

“I’ve gone days without speaking before.” It was true, whenever Sasuke went out on a mission her only source of human interaction went way down. Not that it was much different when Sasuke was there. It was the Uchiha way to have a silent regard for all things. “We’ve gone days without speaking before.” 

“Woah! Hey, look a squirrel!” Naruto pointed off into a treeline. And then there was the Uzumaki way of regarding all things loudly. “I used to throw Kunai at them for target practice, never hit any of them though.” 

“Because your aim was that bad?” Sasuke’s smile returned, a wry selfish thing, and she fluffed up her hair with one hand. Her sister's choice of outfit was peculiar, she was wearing a large white shirt, that probably belonged to Naruto, that left one shoulder exposed, showing off the strap of her bathing suit, it was tied tight about the waist just above her shorts, where more of the black fabric of her bathing suit was open to viewing.

She was showing off, well as much as she’d like to show off. Just how far was their relationship? Strong enough that Sasuke would show Naruto sides of her even Itachi hadn’t seen yet. But that was how they were, a family of secrets. 

Itachi bit her lip and pulled at the sleeve of her shirt, it barely hid her Anbu Tattoo. How would Naruto react to seeing it? Would she be able to see his once his shirt was off and they were in the water? That was the sole reason she was going on this little trip. 

“Hey!” Naruto whined. “I wasn’t bad at throwing Kunai!” 

Naruto shouldered their supplies once again and continued to stubbornly march on, likely with the same over exaggerated pout on his face as he had on this morning when he was begging Sasuke for the lake trip. 

Sasuke snorted, hands on her hips. “Idiot,” her smile didn’t vanish. “Still, thanks for coming out today? The idiot isn’t forcing you into this is he?” 

“You’re the one that said I needed to get out more,” she pushed a bit of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She should have just put the whole thing into a ponytail, her bangs were becoming an annoyance. “Besides, this will be a good chance to find out more about the man,” the taste of the word brought a smile to her face. “You love.”

A blush spread across Sasuke’s face like that of the setting sun. “Shut up,” 

She laughed and turned her attention towards the path that wound through the forest before them, a gap in the trees could be seen, a small island of blue amidst a sea of green. “It’s good to see you so happy Sasuke.”

“You’re one to talk.” Sasuke’s pout remained. “You’ve smiled more since Naruto showed up than you had all year, you even started working on the garden.” She sighed into a smile. “But that’s just the effect he has one people.”

“Cause he’s a ray of sunshine that shits rainbows?”

“Exactly.” 

Dirt and foliage gave way to rocks and washed logs along the slope towards the lake until at long last the coarse lakeside sand greeted their feet. A few trees with their roots exposed to the sun drank directly from the lake, spared from the seasonal shifts in water in part due to stubbornness and the hard dirt perch that likely sat just above the waters highest levels. 

Naruto lead them around the lake, through an offbeat trail to a sheltered harbor that was separated from the rest of the lake by a tree infested peninsula save for a wide channel. The water was a clear deep here, enough to see the multitude of rocks, ancient trees, and fish that resided in the lake. 

It was calm, peaceful, and incredibly relaxing. She had forgotten how quiet it was outside of those walls. 

“Yahoo!” Naruto dropped the luggage he was holding, nearly spilling it all onto the shore so that he could get a running start towards a rope swing. His shirt flying off in the process as he did several flips in the air before cannonballing into the water with a sploosh. 

Itachi blinked, “Well he’s certainly excited for this.” 

“He’s been begging me all summer to do this with him,” Sasuke mumbled picking up some of their stuff, it really did seem a bit much. 

“Then why’d you agree today?” Itachi asked joining her sister in cleaning up Naruto’s mess. 

“Because he’d said you’d go if I agreed.” 

“He’s smarter than he looks.”

Sasuke snorted. “You’re telling me, he’s great at people.”

In no time at all they had a small area of comfort set up with the umbrella casting a shadow on their beach towels. Where they sat. In the shade, knees to their chest, toes dangerously close to the sun, while they watched a blonde man scramble up one of the taller cliffs and then jumping down into the water. 

“Why isn’t he just using chakra to get to the top?” She asked not taking her eyes off of him, she was scanning him for any hint of that Anbu tattoo, it wasn’t on his toned shoulders or his muscled arms. Nor his legs, though she couldn’t see underneath his shorts, still that’d be an unusual spot, especially for Fox. 

The chest or stomach seemed a likely spot, but that area was pressed against the cliff. 

“Apparently that’s less fun.” Sasuke shrugged twisting open a bottle that gave a fizz. 

“Ahh.” She blinked as he neared the top. “I think we’re bad at going to the lake.” 

“Yep.” 

Naruto reached the top and stood with the hands on his hips, looking rather proud over his thirty-foot climb. His chest was bare with no sign of his Anbu tattoo, on his stomach was a tattoo, one she had never seen before. But why did it seem so familiar? A twisting matrix of lines and swirl were set up around his naval, what was it some kind of a -

Seal. 

She winced, just as Naruto dove off the cliff landing with his body flat against the water with a loud smack, pain seared through her head. It was a seal That much was certain. But a seal for what? Did Fox have a seal? She didn’t know. It could be a disguise for his Anbu tattoo, it could be hidden behind any one of those markings. 

“Dumbass,” Sasuke snorted from her bottle twirling its contents as she watched with some cold amusement. “And of course he’s going to do it again.” 

“Hey, Sasuke!” Naruto called as he crawled up the cliff. “Itachi! Come one and join me! It’s no fun if I’m the only one having fun!” 

“I’m having plenty of fun watching you hurt yourself!” Sasuke returned his call. 

“You’re just scared I can dive better than you!” Naruto shouted from atop the cliff once again. Water glistening over his form. 

Sasuke snarled, jamming her bottle into the sand and twisting it a few times. “You can’t even dive you dumbass, all you do is canon balls and belly flops!”

“Still better than you!” With that he dived down into the water, knees tucked against his chest and a pillar of water shot out from his landing spot, impressive splash. 

Her sister stood with a glare on her face tossing Naruto’s shirt and her shorts to the side as she marched forward. She always did hate losing. Sasuke’s bathing suit was an unusual one, like a mix between a two piece and a one piece made out of many black straps that covered various parts of her torso while leaving her navel exposed. “Fine you idiot! I’ll show you how to dive properly, come on Itachi!”

“I’ll just watch.” She really didn’t have much desire to get into the water. That and her bathing suit wasn’t as eye-catching as Sasuke’s was, why did she even bother putting it on? She wanted to look at the seal more, was that a new protocol to hide the tattoo under a seal or another tattoo. 

“Exactly!” Sasuke grabbed her arm pulling her from the safety of the umbrella. “You can judge and put this loser in his place!” 

Well, he certainly knows how to put a fire under Sasuke. 

“Fine,” A closer look at Naruto was perfect. They stepped onto the water and walked - well Sasuke stomped - over to the cliff face, and then right up it, passing Naruto. 

“Hey! What the hell! No chakra!” Naruto protested grunting as he placed another hand above him. “You guys are cheating.” 

“Hurry up!” Sasuke snide as the reached the top. They really could have just jumped, but she probably just wanted to annoy Naruto. Relationships were weird. 

Naruto reached the top and her seal. Many of the symbols and lines were easily large enough to contain the Anbu tattoo, but the navel was a sensitive area and it almost looked like it was as much of a part of him as his stomach muscles were. He stuck his tongue out at Sasuke, “By the way, nice swimsuit.” 

“Don’t change the subject,” She said with a red face, poking Naruto in the chest. “Now watch carefully, I’ll show you how to actually dive.” With a scowl on her red face and a fire in her eyes, Sasuke walked towards the edge, swinging her arms and making sure she was limber. “Don’t look away now.”

“I always have my eye on you,” Naruto’s reply felt like it came out of some kind of romance book. 

As did Sasuke’s response of freezing to glare at him, before she leaped into the water, doing a double backflip, into a twist that had her entering the water with barely a splash, like a Kunai going through paper. She glided along the bottom towards the shore like a fish out of water. 

“Aww, no splash,” Naruto whined, then he turned towards her. Coming up here was a mistake. His smile was large. “Now it’s your turn!” 

She squeaked when she grabbed him, his hands were wet and cold, his touch firm, yet gentle. “What are you doing?” 

“Giving you a hand.” 

She could have stopped him. She could have stopped herself. But she didn’t. Instead, she found her feet off the ground for a few seconds with the water fast approaching. She twisted twice righting herself feet first, arms above her head. Cold, wet, and floating, there was a weightless beauty to the world beneath the water where the world was died blue and the sounds sounded so far. 

It was amazing. She could see so far, watching the fish swim away in fright and the growing shadow a few feet away from her. A boom carried through the water and a pillar of air followed Naruto in as he joined her, smiling like an idiot as he uncurled from his cannonball. 

A smile was already on her face, and she couldn’t take her eyes off of him as they floated there in the water bathed in that cool blue light cut off from the rest of the world. A feeling stirred inside of her. She, she was having fun. 

She had forgotten what that had felt like. 

Naruto pointed at her, showing his teeth and letting the air out of his mouth like he was laughing. His finger led directly towards her arm. Her shirt was gone, lost to the dive, revealing her simplistic black one piece that hugged her body like a second skin. More importantly, he was pointing at her Anbu tattoo. 

The air almost escaped her lungs and she swam upwards, easily making it to the surface to take a deep mouth full of air, and hair as her own tried to enter her mouth blinding her to the world until Naruto surfaced as well. 

“Told you it’d be fun!” He laughed bobbing in the wake of his own waves, her Shirt floating aimlessly behind him. “But, hey, is that an Anbu tattoo?” 

She covered it, her smile fading. “What? How do you know about that?” Maybe he had one as well? He had to, that was the only way. Was he Fox? “Were you in Anbu?”

“Nah, I asked but they didn’t let me in, I asked Kakashi about his tattoo though. He said it was something that Anbu get.” 

“Wha?” Her mouth went dry and only her legs continued to move to keep her head just above the water. A pain tore through her head, making her flinch and having her legs seize up. This wasn’t right. Something was wrong. 

“Woah!” She felt Naruto’s arms wrap around her, keeping her above the water. “You okay?”

She placed a hand on his chest and took several deep breaths. Her heart was racing, her cheeks felt hot, and nothing made sense anymore. She was far from okay. “I'm okay.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Are you sure you’re okay Itachi?” Fox asked again.

A lump formed in her throat choking her mind in a tangled knot that kept getting worse, slowly taking up more of her mental capacity with each passing moment. The more she picked at it the worse it got, the more she wanted to puke, her stomach empty save for the light breakfast she had hours ago was ravenous demanding to be fed as it drained the strength from her limbs. 

“I’m fine,” She repeated, swallowing everything down, pushing everything out and away from her as quickly as she could. “I’m fine,” She repeated her feet digging into the soft sand of the lake shore. 

A breath. A moment of clarity. The blood stopped rushing to her head and her heart slowed. “I’m fine.” 

Sasuke clicked her teeth and placed another hand onto her shoulder, guiding her as much as forcing her to sit down in the shade once again. “That’s three fine’s which means you’re not fine.” 

Even if it was true, that logic was flawed. 

Her sister spun, slapping Naruto in the chest. “This all your fault you idiot! She said she didn’t want to jump but you just had to push her!” 

“I said I was sorry,” Naruto groaned rubbing at the spot like a dog might lick its wounds. “I just thought that once she got in she might start having fun like you did,” 

“Idiot,” Sasuke sneered, crossing her arms and looking away from him. “We were enjoying ourselves just fine!

“I’m fine,” she repeated, stopping the argument before it began. Hopefully. “I just had a sudden cramp is all, I haven’t swam in a long time.” 

Narrowed black eyes were directed her way. Sasuke didn’t believe her. Not for a second. “Fine, sure, have it your way. It’s still his fault.” 

“I’m not going to leave you Sasuke,” The words slipped out of her mouth, smooth like ice and filled her heart with a warmth. They were the only family they had left. She looked towards Naruto who was standing, arm flexing as he scratched the back of his head, face knotted up in confusion. He was family too. He wouldn’t leave her either. 

Those words had a subtle nearly invisible effect on Sasuke, removing the fire in her eyes and forcing a smile on her face. Even Naruto moved to bump her in the shoulder. “I know, besides it’s not like you’re going to be done in by some idiot pushing you into a lake. It’s just you’ve been acting off recently.” 

“It’s because of me right?” Naruto asked still scratching the back of his head. “I mean, I can kind of tell that you don’t really know how to deal with me and you keep saying half of what you mean. So maybe I should just move out or something? I can stay with Lee, or-” 

“No,” She smiled looking up at him. Her voice calm and firm. “Please stay. It will be good for,” She paused trying to find the reason. There was none beyond a simple desire, an admiration that stretched far and deep. “Both me and Sasuke, I think we could both learn to be a bit more social.” 

“Speak for yourself I’m plenty social.” Sasuke snorted, pushing a strand of her wet hair out of her eyes. 

“You made a waitress cry the last time we went out.” 

Her sister did not refute this. “Yea, well, whatever, my sister is still right you dumbass, besides it’s only been a day. And I’m not letting you stay with Lee, and especially not Kiba.”

“Sheesh, if it means that much to you I’ll stay,” Naruto stuck his tongue out, flashing a victory symbol. “But you’re sure you’re okay?” 

No, she was sure that she wasn’t. “Yes, I’m fine”

Sasuke dropped her arms, placing a hand on her hip, she didn’t believe her. Fox’s leg was twitching, he didn’t believe her either. Guess she’d just have to show them. Besides, if she idled she was bound to start thinking about what Naruto had said. 

He shouldn’t know what an Anbu tattoo is. He shouldn’t know that Kakashi was in Anbu. She shouldn’t know that either. But at the same time, she did. Kakashi, he was, he was Dog right? That, that sounded right? Dog was the Anbu that taught her the ways, her light in that dark Konoha underworld. And his name was Kakashi. 

She knew that. She had to have known that. The front of her head throbbed with pain. 

“Come on,” She stood, pushing the pain back and away from her, burying it deep into her mind where she could no longer feel it. With a breath the pain was gone and her mind was clear. These two couldn’t enjoy themselves if they kept worrying about her. With a smile on her lips she took a brazen stride back out towards the water. 

She pushed her shorts off her slender hips mid stride and walked past them. Her toes sunk into the cold water, mixing the smooth sand that slid between her toes like a viscous slime. Another breath and the smile returned to her face, the one she had minutes ago when Naruto had tossed her into the lake. Tossing her ponytail over her shoulder she looked back at them, Naruto’s eyes drifted down and away while Sasuke’s lone eyebrow was raised. “Last one to the other side of the lake and back has to do dishes for a week.” 

A twist of her foot, a bit of chakra, and a rush of adrenaline pushed her high into the air, allowing her to see the wonderful world around her for what felt like the first time. Water crashed around her, sending a tender shock along her body and a clear reminder of what it meant to be alive and of fun. 

“Hey wait!” Naruto shouted from behind her. 

A second splash came from behind her, Sasuke had joined the fray. 

“No fair!” Naruto’s splash was louder and more frantic as he desperately tried to catch up to her. 

 

XXXX

A sanguine sky loomed above her, the sun - once a beacon of joy, life, and hope - was now a blackened mockery of hatred and despair. Only the moon remained true, hanging in the sky shining brightly as though to illuminate the dark path that laid before her. Cloud, heavy and black with blood loomed began to swarm over the moon, swallowing it, drowning, consuming it, painting it red. 

The sharingan. Her sharingan. 

Blood. 

It filled the streets of her home, bursting from the doors and windows of the houses swirling around her a crimson whirlpool. It had to be done. It had to. No one else could do it, it had to be her, She was the only one that could do this. 

The blood washed over her, leaving nothing but blackness and red clouds hanging in the sky. 

“Itachi?”

Don’t remember. Forget. Forget and live. 

A hand rested on her shoulder, she turned and saw Fox smiling at her. His large blue eyes were the sirens call that dragged her away from the rocky shores filled with jagged despair and whatever dark secrets lurked below the waves of her mind. 

“Itachi?” he asked again, tossing the cloth over his shoulder with a wet spack splattering the window with dirty dishwater. “You okay? You kind of,” He stopped looking at her hand. “You’re bleeding.” 

Oh, she was. It was just a small prick, hardly anything to take notice of. Just a small drop of blood at the end of her finger where she nicked herself. How had she done that though? She was always careful, she hadn’t cut herself since she first held a kunai. “My mind just slipped is all, and I guess so did my knife.” 

He didn’t buy her laughter for a moment. Instead he enveloped her small nimble hands with his own and dragged her to the sink, pouring a bit of hot water over it and tossing the knife into the sink. “Really, are you sure you’re okay? We can have Sakura over here in a heartbeat. Well, maybe not that fast. But she’d come running.” 

“Yours and Sasuke’s medic teammate right?” she asked. Cheeks felt flushed, knees felt weird, heart was beating. And she couldn’t stop looking at Fox’s blonde hair and blue eyes. He always was too kind. 

Wait did Fox have blond hair? Wasn’t it black? Or red? She should know this. She had known him for years. He was her quarry. No what was it again? Her throat felt tight again, head began to spin. “I’m fine, honestly you and Sasuke worry far to much about me like I’m some feeble old woman. I’m only five years older than you.” 

“Yea, well you’re important to Sasuke,” Naruto said softly pulling her finger out from the water and going over it with his finger. She saw his chakra, just a bit follow along the cut. It wasn’t healing it. Not in the traditional sense. Rather he just bound the two sides of the cut together like two pieces of paper. Creative. “That’s reason enough for me to worry about you, that and you’re important to me as well.” 

Everything felt different with that. Like the world had changed once again. Had words always had so much power over her? “I am?” 

“Well yea, you’re fun to be around, and I like talking to you. Besides,” he flashed her a brilliant smile and let her hand drop. She almost missed his touch. “I feel like I really want to get to know you better.” 

There wasn’t much to know. “I share a curiosity about you as well Naruto. Like what exactly that seal is on your stomach.” And how much he knew about Anbu. Could the seal be some kind of memory suppressor? 

It held the Kyuubi

His hand fell to his stomach, and he grabbed at his orange shirt wet around the waist from the dish water. “Oh, that.” A sad smile appeared on his face. “Well I guess there’s no real point in hiding it. But that seal holds the Kyuubi.”

“Kyuubi?” 

Her target was the Jinchuuriki of Konoha. No, that was a lie. A lie within another lie. A long list of lies that coiled at her feet, snakes ready to strike. They twisted into one another with only a kernel of truth somewhere hidden in its scales. 

She looked at Naruto, fear in his eyes and he bit his lip. He nodded once. 

“Then,” She winced at the pain that was spreading through her head. Red clouds on a black sky clouded her visions. Fox. She had to see Fox. She had to get the Fox. Keep it safe. Work with the Fox. Stop them. Help them. Betray them. Double Cross. She swallowed, pushing everything beneath the facade of Weasel. “That’s fine, I’m sorry for your burden though.” 

His smile was genuine. “Thanks! That actually means a lot!” 

“I’m glad, now finish up with the dishes, dinner should be ready in a few moments.” 

Tonight she would go get answers from Ape. The old entrances should work. 

“Oh, hey! I have an idea!” Naruto chirped, his hands buried deep into the sudsy water. “We should all watch a movie tonight? What do you say?” 

She couldn’t say no.


	7. Chapter 7

Comfy. 

Safe.

Happy. 

The T.V. gave off one last flash of light as she turned it off, tossing the remote onto the empty space on their couch. The movie had been a romantic comedy adventure, something about a pirate that falls in love with a princess. It was fun. She shifted only the slightest bit - there was no rush, no need to disturb the peace - readjusting the blanket so that it was taut against her feet, trapping the warmth around her. And Naruto.

He sat between them, snoring without a care in the world - so much for being too energetic to sleep - Sasuke, out cold, cuddled against him, her head on his chest and a hand on his heart. That vicious scowl her that was a scar on her sister's face was nothing but a memory, showing a face that was made to be happy. 

And Naruto was the one that did that. For both of them. 

Sleep would come easy tonight. Just forget about everything else. Don’t worry about the past. Live in the now. 

She pressed against him allowing her head to fall against his shoulder. These last few days had brought her a new found sense of joy. If this became her status quo, that would be perfect. Happiness like this had been absent from her life since her parents and clan were killed. 

By her own hands. 

A thousand razors stabbed sliced into her mind. She shouldn’t be thinking about that. She shouldn’t know about that. It was supposed to be hidden. What was? The truth. What truth? The one she wanted to hide. From Sasuke, but mostly from herself. 

No, that wasn’t right. She was in Anbu. She was away when her parents were murdered, stationed as a guard to the Lord of Fire. No, that was her lie. The lie to tell others about her time in Anbu. But that was a lie too wasn’t it? 

It couldn’t be a lie. The blanket fell from her and she scrambled forward, falling to her hands and knees, and pushing off the coffee table. It wasn’t a lie. That was her reality. Eight years of her life couldn’t be a lie. It was the truth. Anbu, Fox, all of it. 

She was Weasel. 

Tearing into the closet she found her box. She needed that simplicity again, where emotions didn’t exist, where memories didn’t matter, all that mattered was her mission, and Fox. Especially Fox. 

Her breath stopped. She teased the lines of her mask, feeling every imperfection that her original mask lacked. With her eyes closed, she placed the mask on her face and allowed the tears to fall for the first time. Putting the mask on did nothing. She didn’t turn back into Weasel, she wasn’t back in her ANBU room. 

She was still here, in her home, crying in a hallway with her fake Anbu mask stuck to her face. Why was she crying? Why? She had no reason to cry. The last few days had been so wonderful because of Naruto. But her past did not agree. 

She clutched Fox’s kunai, wrapping her hands around the hilt and thumbing at that brilliant red wrapped around the handle. It felt so real. But it could easily be just some random kunai that someone made special. 

“Itachi?” 

She gasped, eyes moving towards the source of the noise, her body frozen in place by a thousand bindings. It was Naruto, scratching his head and yawning at her. 

“Neat mask, was it yours from Anbu?” Naruto kneeled down in front of her. He was so close. So very close. “Hey, wait? Are you crying?” He noticed. “What’s wrong is everything okay?” 

“No,” her voice shook like a leaf in the wind. She couldn’t stay here. She couldn’t keep pretending like she deserved this happiness. The tears came again, stronger than ever before. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she just stay here and be happy? 

Because it was all a lie. 

“Oh geez,” Naruto flailed his arms about helplessly. “Sasuke! Your Sister is crying!” He reached for the kunai. “Okay, let’s put the sharp object down, and talk about this okay?”

“No.” The leaf fell, only the bitter bark remained. “No!” She stood, gripping the kunai tightly in her hands. “I need to know!” 

Naruto stood with her. “Know what? It’s okay Itachi, I’m here for you.” Sasuke appeared next to him the sleep quickly fading from her. “We’re here for you, just talk to us.” 

“I don’t want to be lied to anymore.” She needed to know the truth. “You’re Fox aren’t you! You were in Anbu! You were my partner! Why do you keep lying to me! You know I’m Weasel!” Her legs felt weak, and she clung to the kunai like it was the only thing that kept her alive. “This is your kunai! You gave it to me! Why don’t you remember me! I’m Weasel!” 

He took a step forward, blue eyes sparkling in the night. “Calm down okay? Nobody is lying to you okay?” 

Lies, more lies. A thousand more lies. “Liar, then why were you gone for eight years?” 

“He was training with Jiraiya,” Sasuke stepped forward. She was backed against the door now. “Your Sharingan is activated.” 

That didn’t matter. She needed to see their lies. “Why were you training with Jiraiya? Huh? What’s so important that a Sanin would train you for eight years?” 

“It wasn’t just training,” Naruto admitted placing a hand over his seal. “I was learning to control the Kyuubi, me, and a bunch of other Jinchuriki were fighting against a group of ninja called Akatsuki.” 

Akatsuki.

That name was a curse. It wracked her body with pain, and cracked the glass of her mind, clouding her thoughts with a thousand shattered truths and lies that fell like snow. Her feet moved on their own, pushing her to the side into the bathroom, and out the window.

If Naruto wouldn’t admit to being Fox, then she’d get answers from Ape. The entrance under the eastern bridge should work, but the tunnels might have changed, and it would take to long. The quickest entrance would be the one near the academy. Faster. She needed to go faster. Sasuke was quick, quicker than her. 

But not by much. 

Streets, branches, leaves, sky, and stars all blurred around her goal. There she would get her truths. It had to be. She needed to know. It wasn’t a lie. Once she knew the truth she could return to them. Everything would be fine and she could have that happiness again. After the truth. 

“There will be no going back.” A voice echoed in her mind. Her voice. 

She slipped, tumbling along the ground in front of the entrance. The first entrance she had been shown all those years ago. Her bare right foot was cut along the ankle, leaving an anemic trail of blood right to her. There was no time to pause. If her sister or Fox caught her they wouldn’t let her find the truth. 

“You don’t want to know.” Her voice warned. 

“Shut up” she growled pressing herself off the ground, she could worry about injuries later. The entrance was in front of her. A passage between a building and a water tower in direct view of the academy, a vent could be moved the smallest amount to allow her to slip in. From there, it was a straight shot down into the ANBU tunnels that covered the city like roots of a great tree. 

The dull light was barely enough to allow her to see in the catacombs. A few quick turns and she would be in the beating heart of anbu activity. She passed three on her way, all to busy with their own tasks to pay her any heed. The locker room gave off a familiar scent of blood, sweat, and tears, while the fans and lights buzzed above. 

“What are you doing here?” an Anbu woman asked, her purple hair loose about her head, her mask was that of a cat. It only took a moment before Cat’s sword was drawn, leveled at her. “And why are you wearing that fake mask?” 

“I’m Weasel,” She kept her voice even as could be. “I want to speak to Fox and Ape.” 

“Fox?” Another anbu asked, this one was large, his brown hair was frizzy sticking close to her. Except he wasn’t wearing his mask, why wasn’t he wearing his mask? He was round faced with the markings of an Akimichi. “I don’t even think we have a Fox mask in storage, let along one for an Anbu to use, as for Ape…” 

The Akimichi nodded towards another man. He was exactly as she remembered him just with a bit more grey hair than she thought. He rose from the metallic table and walked over to her. His mask all but forgotten on top of it. “Itachi? Is that you? What are you doing here?” 

“Where’s your mask?” She asked, the room spinning. Nothing made sense. Why did she know his face? She didn’t need to know his face. She shouldn’t know his face. “Why aren’t you wearing your mask? Where’s Fox? Why isn’t he here?” 

“Fox!” She called, moving towards another doorway, no answer. Which was the way to her room again? Was it to the left? Or the right? Where was it? “Fox! It’s me! It’s Weasel! Your partner! I need to see you! Please! Fox!” 

A snap on the back of her neck, and she felt her body go slack. She stopped fighting, and let the blackness take her as the room kept spinning. Ape’s face greeted her as he held her just off the ground. He still wasn’t wearing her mask. 

“Dammit,” he swore, tossing her mask to the side, she could hear it breaking. “Yugao, go get a doctor, Choji, go get Inoichi Yamanaka.” There was a pause. “Now!” 

“I told you, there was no going back.” Her voice taunted.


	8. Chapter 8

vWho was she? 

A mask. 

A mask? 

A fake, a gift, an illusion, one final chance. 

But why? 

Tsukuyomi, a world of her own making, one that she controlled everything, from the grain of the wood to the flow of time, stretched out before her, marked by the blood red skies and stillness of all things. Her home was before her, just as her mother had always left it. 

But there was something different about this house, even within the Tsukuyomi it felt off like it was to still. The front door was open, and she found her self inside the main room, then the hallway, all against her own will. She wasn’t in control here. Had she ever been? 

Her parent's room was not empty. 

Fugaku Uchiha was a stoic man that had spent his life serving his clan, and in his prime was known as Fugaku of the Red Eye. Her father’s usual scowl was firmly in place, despite the tears that streamed down his face, he clutched his wife’s hand tightly as they sat in this dark room. 

A sword that she was holding punctured his heart. 

Her mother, as beautiful as always sat with her hand grasping Fugaku’s hand. Mikoto had long since given up the life of a ninja to be a stay at home mom for her two children, but she held the rank of jounin. 

A sword, that a double of her held, punctured her heart. 

She tried to speak, to ask why, but everything was lost, and only the beating of her heart and the rushing of her blood. 

“This,” Her double said, turning to look at her with tears streaming down her face. “Is what I am. Who I really am. And you,” There was a pause, and the scene changed to when she was first handed her Anbu mask, it was the same, but different. “You are nothing but a mask.” 

She could only watch as she put on that mask, and slaughtered her clan, one by one. Each and every one of those corpses weighed down upon her. Smothering her under their weight. It was all her fault. She killed the clan. It was all her doing. She was why Sasuke was alone. Why her parents were dead. 

Her actions began to show themselves as she was taken into the Akatsuki, following their orders, for that grand illusion of peace their leader promised. More bodies joined her train of guilt. So much death. So much fighting and suffering. 

Her double stood along in a field of corpses as blood rained down around her. “This is who I am.” 

It wasn’t the whole truth. Something was missing. Something important. She clawed at her face, scratching at the smooth porcelain of her mask. 

“Why?” Her voice smashed through her mask, her doubles eyes snapped open wide, and she felt that surprise as well. “Why?” She screamed again. Why did she do all this? Why kill? Why murder? Why make this mask? 

“For her,” Itachi said, no longer as a woman, but as the older sister already to wise to the world. They were home again. In the yard where a young Sasuke was playing climbing up a tree without a care in the world. “You were my gift to her.” She appeared as she had then, a young girl far to young to be a ninja. “A chance to give her a part of the life I stole from her.”

“I wanted to die. I needed to die.” Those emotions came flooding into her. But so did everything else. The truths hidden; behind the truths. The loss of family and friends during the war, the growing discontent within the Uchiha, the anger boiling over as talks of rebellion and war became common ground. She didn’t want war. 

Sasuke didn’t deserve war. So she ended it before it began. It should have ended there. But another war was on the horizon. Even in Akatsuki, her heart remained in the leaf, with Sasuke. She fed Konoha information - bits and pieces - nothing more than a few scattered words. All the while she desired a death that would not come. 

It was in Akatsuki where she first met Naruto, the container of the nine tailed fox. They had captured him, and he was bound, blindfolded and sealed. But he never gave up. That was something she admired about him. And it was for that reason that she orchestrated his escape, which would lead to Akatsuki’s downfall. 

“I,” Her voice shook as she found the edges of her mask. The regret tasted terrible, it weighed down her mind, body, and soul, like giant serpents made of the chains, so heavy and so cold there was no room for any other emotion. This was her despair. 

The mask fell freely from her face, dropping to the floor as it shattered into a fine dust. She could never put it on again. Never pretend to be happy again. “I am Itachi.”

A silence greeted her. A deathly kind of silence, the kind that would follow her with her every movement, her every word, her every action. This was the silence of someone waiting to die. She should not be alive. 

XXXX

 

“I told you this would happen.”

A dull ache pulsed through her body, gathering in her head before exploding behind her eyes. 

“Then fix it! You changed her memories before, why can’t you just erase them?” That was the Anbu captain’s voice. And he was arguing with someone. 

“That’s a death sentence, I’m not going to do that to her.” 

“I’ve seen you do it to enemies before!” The man slammed his hands down on the table. “How is this any different? Its what she wants.” 

“There’s a difference between altering and erasing Hotto!” The other voice said it was a male. “I changed her memories before, altering them in a way to make sense but still keep who she was intact.” A pause. 

Blinding light and a dull room greeted her, she was still in the Anbu base, resting on a bunk, her foot was healed. How considerate of them. In many ways, this room reminded her of the fake Anbu room that she had stayed in, but it lacked the hope that Fox had brought her. No, not Fox. There had never been a Fox.

Now she could see what lies were entangled with what truths. The admiration that she held for Naruto as they fought together against Akatsuki, was turned into Fox, the same feelings, for the same person just a different name. Her loyalty to Konoha remained the same, and the reasons she could be with her sister was twisted into her duty to Anbu rather than her betrayal. 

But all that seemed so distant, as an empty feeling chased after every thought. 

“We are our memories, our experiences, our choices.” The other male spoke, his voice ragged. It was Inoichi. She remembered him both from the seeds she had boughten for her mother’s garden, and when he changed her memories. It seemed that had failed. “If I remove her memories I would be killing her.”

“Then change her memories again.” Hotto groaned. She could hear him pacing in the room joined with hers. 

“No, I was against it in the first place, it wasn’t an organic way to heal, now who knows what kind of mental damage I’ve done to her? This was exactly why I wanted to do check-ups.” 

Her bare feet touched down on the cold unforgiving concrete that rested beneath her. The smooth flat texture was so much like her, cold, unforgiving, a foundation for which other things might be built, and devoid of life. There was no soreness in her body, just a pounding headache. She must not have been here for very long, an hour. Maybe less. 

She walked into the joining room, a table cluttered with scattered reports separated the two men, and a third sat on a seat reading a book, it was Kakashi. She remembered him well, as the one who trained her when she first joined Anbu all those years ago. All three men looked at her, only Kakashi remained silent, but the look he gave her spoke volumes. 

“I’m going home,” she interrupted both men, their words falling on deaf ears. “My apologize for worrying you all, and I thank you for putting up with me.” 

“Are you Weasel?” Hotto grunted, folding his large hair covered arms over his chest. 

She gave a small laugh and forged a smile to offer them. One last mask. “I haven’t been Weasel in years.” 

“And are you fine?” Inoichi asked, pushing around the table to stand before her. “All thoughts in order? No voices?” 

“Just my own,” she kept that smile up. “I’m fine, thank you for trying to give me a second life. It was fun while it lasted.” 

“Let me do a check-up, it’s my fault for listening to them in the first place and-”

“Inoichi,” She pressed taking a long blink. “Can it wait until tomorrow? I’m rather tired and I’d like to go home and rest.” 

He blinked. “Oh, oh, oh why yes! Of course, I’ll come to your home first thing in the morning.”

“That’d be great, thank you.” She bowed to each of them one by one. “Thank you again for putting up with me, I wasn’t quite myself.” The humor behind that statement was dead on arrival. Only Inoichi seemed to mind. 

As her first foot left the room she heard Kakashi’s words. “My students are worried about you.” 

Sasuke, Naruto. The thought of those two gave her pause, as she remembered those wonderful feelings she had experienced yesterday. But that was just an illusion. It wasn’t fate. There was no way that something like happiness could bloom inside of her. Sasuke didn’t need the truth weighing her down. She forced another smile. “I’ll be sure to talk to them when I get home.” 

His reply was to flip a page in that book of his. 

XXXX

The wind tossed her hair around, obscuring her view of Konoha for no more than a moment. Despite the sorrow she felt in the village, despite the hate, the despite the secrets, the war, the grief, sorrow, despite everything. It was her home, and the actions she had taken were to make sure that it would continue to grow and allow new flowers to bloom. Flowers like Sasuke and Naruto.

She stood top of the Third Hokage’s head, Hiruzen Sarutobi, many remember him as a great leader of Konoha, and a kind man that strived for peace in his later years. It seemed only right that she would end it here, on the monument of the man that started it all. That and it was the highest. 

Her toes gripped the rough rock as she walked forward step by step. The eastern horizon was just starting to awaken to the first lights of day, and many of the ninja would soon be up as well. She needed to do this now. 

Closing her eyes one last time, she felt the wind around her and smiled one final time. This was it. Shame she wouldn’t be able to face Sasuke or Naruto one last time, but they would try to stop her, worse they had the power to do just that. 

Arms out, she placed one foot forward and fell. 

The wind rushed around her. Her chakra gathered around her core, held tight by her will. From this height, even if she did use her chakra she’d still be heavily injured. Without it, she’d be someone’s bad day. 

It was like when Naruto threw her into the lake. The laughter that followed the pleasant mood, the fun. It would have been wonderful to have a life like that. But she didn’t deserve a life like that. “Sorry, Saskue. Sorry Naruto, live a long happy life without me. 

 

 

 

 

“Itachi!” She opened her eyes to see Naruto flying towards her, glowing like a second sun as chakra enveloped him. He grabbed her waist by the waist, pulling her close enough that she could feel his heartbeat. “I got you.”

Words failed her as a will to live burst out from the darkness that shrouded her mind. She grabbed onto Naruto, holding him for dear life. She pressed her face into his chest and let everything out. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled into him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” 

The world flew beneath her, Naruto jumping along the rooftops with an ease that matched his skill, it was only when he came to a stop and her feet touched the soft grass, wet with the morning dew, did his chakra cloak vanish. She was in the yard of her home. 

A pain seared across her face, and she found herself face first in the dirt. 

“Woah! Sasuke! Calm down!” Naruto all but shouted, pressing an arm into her sister. 

Sasuke was all rage and tears. It had been so long since she had seen her sister cry. Far, far too long. Those were the emotions that she had robbed of her sister when she killed their parents in the name of peace. The emotions that Naruto brought back to her.

“You fucking idiot!” Sasuke screamed shoving Naruto aside, she fell to her knees and pulled her into a hug. “Why the hell is everybody that I fucking love and absolute fucking idiot?” 

What as she supposed to do? She was her sister’s only family. Because she killed them all. Was there anything she could say that would make up for that? There was nothing she could give to repay that debt. “Sasuke, my life is yours to do with as you please.”

“The hell are you talkinga bout?” Sasuke muttered pulling her tighter. “This is my fault, I should have talked to you more. I should have helped you. I’m such a shitty sister.” 

“No,” she muttered, she grabbed hold of Sasuke’s, biting her lip to fight back the growing tears. Honesty. There was no point in hiding the truth anymore. Sasuke didn’t deserve the lies anymore. “I’m worse. I killed our parents.”

“I know!” Sasuke shouted, pressing her face into her shoulder even tighter. “I’ve known for a long time, I know why you did it. I know why.” Sasuke continued to cry and grab at her trying to find a better position to hug her with each passing second. “I know alright. How you were forced do it by Danzo and the Third Hokage, why they had to do that. And I forgave you a long time ago.” 

Her mouth went dry and she found fresh tears ones again. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Shut up,” Sasuke mumbled. “If your life is mine then I want you to spend it being happy with me and Naruto. Okay?” 

She nodded. “I can try.”


	9. Chapter 9

The white unblemished porcelain of her mother’s fine china glistened in the stream of hot water. Her hands, already pruning from the last fifteen minutes, ran across the porcelain marveling at its smooth unblemished surface. It was the kind of dish that was too pristine to use outside of special events. Yet, the last time this dish was used was last night, for no other reason than to simply be used. 

Not so long ago, she was alone, waiting to die, eager for that release. Those desires still bit at her heels, reminding her of her past. When she stopped moving, they would catch up to her, drowning her in her own sins and reminding her that she did not deserve to live. 

“Itachi,” Naruto bumped her with his hip, a warm smile that pushed out the cold and brought a warmth to her cheeks. Like the goofball he was, he wiggled his eyebrows like they had a life of their own. 

But she wasn’t alone anymore. She looked over towards Naruto the sleeves of his black shirt were rolled up to his elbows revealing his forearms, as he helped her do the dishes. Her family, while not as large as it had been a lifetime ago, was more than she could ever ask for. Both Sasuke and Naruto wanted her to live. And that was good enough. At least until she found her own reason to live.

“Sorry, just lost in thought,” she hummed, handing the dish to him. Her home had never felt like this before like it was more than just a place to live. But she was still running from her past, Inoichi had said as much. And he was right, she needed to be more honest with herself, and those she cared for.

Naruto took the plate and her comment in stride. Nodding just once to show that he heard her and a touch on her shoulder told her that he understood what she did not say. For someone, so loud and talkative Naruto had proven a great listener, even when she didn’t speak. 

“We’ve met before.” The words forced their way out of her. She had been in the shadows for so long, every step into the light was like plunging herself into frozen water. 

“Yeaaa,” he nodded one eyebrow raised. “We met like a month ago. You’re not having memory problems are you? Quick how many fingers am I holding up.” 

Adorable. 

A short giggle escaped her, something that only seemed to happen around him. He was a warm blanket awaiting her once she left that frigid light. “No, I meant before, years ago.” The words trapped her lips shut, causing them to tear as she forced them out. “When I was a member of the Akatsuki, I was the one that captured you.”

His nose crinkled and his mouth became small, a sign that meant he was confused. It was easy to read Naruto a person that wore their emotions on their sleeves. And she knew him well. Did she have any tells? 

“Ohh!” His face lit up, and his hand slapped against the countertop. “That was you? Man, I thought you felt familiar. And thanks for setting us free, and stopping the ritual.” 

“How, did you know that was me?” Wasn’t she wearing a mask? Or was that part of her fake memories? No, there was a mask, an orange one that Akatsuki members wore along with their cloaks. 

“Ha! I knew it!” He grinned swaying from side to side like a child that just figured something out. For the first time. “I always wanted to thank that person for helping us out like that, but you ran away after we broke out, and when you said you were in Akatsuki, I kind of figured it was you. So thanks.” 

That was the first time anybody had thanked her for what she had done. It, but, what did that mean? What did he mean by that? “You,” Her voice quivered. Her body shook, and her limbs felt cold. “You know what I did, how many people I killed, and you’re thanking me?” 

His arms wrapped around her and she felt her face press into the warmth of his chest. Her own hands still wet from the dishes gripped at the back of his shirt. This wasn’t her first hug with him, if anything he abused it, anytime she was upset near him, he pulled her into one. A simple trick, but one that worked over and over again.

“I know what you’ve done Itachi. A lot of it I find hard to understand,” He tightened his grip around her and rested his head next to her ear. “But I know your heart Itachi, you saw what was wrong with this world and tried to bear all that weight on your own. While I can’t speak for everyone, I know that I forgive you. So thank you, for trying to stop fighting all on your own.” 

She was crying. Again. How many times had she cried since she tried to take her life? And for how many different reasons? It wasn’t fair to Naruto for him to put up with her. He was supposed to be happy with her sister, not wasting so much time with her. 

“I’m sorry,” Her voice was weak, lips trembling. “I’m sorry,” She muttered again, pressing further into Naruto, holding onto him with what little strength she could muster. “Can you just hold me for a bit?” 

She felt him nod, his hand rubbing a circle along the small of her back. “Sure, besides you’re fun to hug.”

Her tears felt cold along her cheeks. 

Seconds turned to minutes before she finally pulled away from Naruto, her hand lingered on his chest where her tears stained his black shirt. At least it was black and barely noticeable. Pushing what few remained in her eyes out, she brought a smile out for Naruto. “Thank you Naruto, I’m fine now.” 

“You sure?” He held his arms out wide rising a single eyebrow out for her as though challenging her to a hugging competition. “Sasuke normally needs thirty minutes before she’s fully recharged. And I will have you know I give the best hugs in all of Konoha.” 

Another laugh. “I believe you, but I’m,” fine was the word she wanted to use. “I’m better, I can finish up here, if you want to tend to the garden?” 

His arms dropped along with his smile. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes,” she wasn’t a child, or an idiot. “I know you and Sasuke don’t want to leave me alone, but you’re not, I’ll be able to see you from the window.” She gestured towards the mostly empty sink. “Besides, we’re almost done here. I can finish up and then I’ll join you in the garden soon. Then we can work on dinner?” 

His smile sprung back. “Yea! That sounds great.” 

Sasuke was lucky to have found Naruto. He was someone that could put a smile on her face even when the darkest of thoughts choked her emotions. He was strong, kind, and the more time she spent around him, the more she wanted his company. Outside of her sister, she trusted Naruto the most. 

From her window, she watched him work the garden they had started not so long ago, yet already the first of their crop was already taking bloom. A whole bed was devoted to tomatoes - for her sister that could eat the fruit raw like it was an apple - and another held a feast of strawberries that had her mouth watering at the thought of them. The remaining three beds held far more variety, and Naruto had started work on a fourth. 

There was a joy in the way he worked, one that she too felt, it was the joy of having the time and peace to do something so mundane. And yet for her, there was another joy, of just simply watching him. It was small, hard to notice. But it was there in the way he cared for the plants, there in the way he hammered the wood, there in the way he smiled back at her. 

Amidst the storming seas of her past, he was the light that guided her to the present. 

Groceries hitting the countertop shocked her back into the kitchen. She turned to look at her sister, who had the usual scowl on her face, one that was only exasperated by the fact that she had to go shopping. With a growl, she began to put the items away. “I hate people.” 

“Naruto’s people,” She muttered with a shrug turning her attention back to the dishes, and Naruto as he hit his thumb trying to hammer two pieces of wood together. She should have him work on his shuriken jutsu. “And you like him.”

Sasuke snorted, “Naruto’s not people, he's an idiot.” 

“Well, if you love idiots so much then you should like going shopping.” She could feel her sisters glare on the back of her head. 

“You know what I mean,” Sasuke stood next to her, drying one of the dishes with a quick once over with the towel. “He’s just,” 

“He’s just Naruto.” She finished, feeling a smile twinge onto her lips as she watched the large man-child suck his thumb while still trying to hammer the bed together. A sigh escaped her even as she rolled her eyes at him. For all his strength, sincerity, and talent he really was just one big goofball. And an attractive one too. 

The admiration she once felt for Fox had been real, but it had belonged to Naruto all along. 

“Holy shit,” Sasuke muttered, her sister pushed on her shoulder, and grabbed her attention. Her eyes were wide and filled with a dangerous mix of joy, anger, and curiosity. Slowly the concoction stabilized and a smile worked its way onto her sister's face, one that was hard to place. “Woah, you’re in love with Naruto aren’t you?” 

“I,” 

The statement tore through her mind like a torch through the darkness illuminating many things that she had locked away for the longest time. Desires, hopes, and dreams she didn’t know she had. “That’s, I.” 

She couldn’t say no.


	10. Chapter 10

With each passing stride Sasuke’s emotions grew and wanned. Her footfalls alternated between stomping and the graceful stride that showed her years as a ninja, and her face kept switching between extremes, elation, melancholy, fury, every time she changed direction, blocked only by her finger as she ran through an endless number of scenarios. 

“I didn’t say yes,” she reminded her sister, for the past five minutes she had been sitting in silence watching her sister jump from foolish conclusion to outlandish theory. Even then she couldn’t bring herself to deny half of the things Sasuke was muttering about. She clutched at the still warm linen sheet that made her bed, even now she was keeping truths from herself. 

“But you can’t say no, and that’s worse than a yes.” Sasuke snapped her finger at her, not once looking her in the eyes. A sigh and she came to a stop facing away from her and staring at the shut door. “It’s how Naruto got me to admit my feelings after all.” 

With a frustrated scream, Sasuke scratched at her head and pulled at her hair. “I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or not, and I have no idea what to even think about any of this.” She started walking pacing again, now spinning a kunai in her free hand. “On the one hand he’s my boyfriend and I’m supposed to be angry at you. But I’m not, and you’re my sister.”

“I uh,” What was she supposed to say? She didn’t even know how to respond if someone came up saying they loved her. Let alone being the one in love. Not that she was, maybe, probably? Yes? No? None of this was making any sense to her. She was just doing her best to be happy and now she was in love? 

The word bounced against her every thought, weighing itself against her every action. She shouldn’t fall in love. She wasn’t sure if she should be alive. “Just ignore it Sasuke, keep being happy with Naruto I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” Her sister came to a dead stop her emotions frozen somewhere between fury and annoyance. Sasuke spun on her heel, stomping now. “You’ll leave the house? Stay out of our lives? So that you can live all by yourself as a hermit? That has to be the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” 

“No, that’s not going to happen. I’m not going to live without my sister again,” Sasuke directed a finger towards her and her eyes narrowed. “And neither are you, we’re family.” 

“I can fall out of love,” She offered, not that she was in love. 

Sasuke gave a sharp laugh that cut through the silence. “Ha! I’ve been trying to do that for years, trust me it doesn’t work when it’s an idiot like Naruto!” She screamed that last bit, something she only did once or twice… a week. 

“No, no, no,” She spun on her heel a manic smile on her face. “You don’t get to get off that easy. Besides, you’re kind of a social wallflower.” 

Was that supposed to be an insult? What was a wallflower? Another question to ask Inoichi’s nosey daughter. 

“And you have that whole ‘please don’t talk to me aura’ that makes people stay away from you,” Didn’t she also have that? Minus the politeness. “That means that the chance of you finding someone else to fall in love with is astronomically low. Which means you’ll be alone for the rest of your life, and I’m not going to let that happen. Again.” 

On the one hand, this was the most they’ve spoken in weeks. On the other hand, did it have to be about this? Her cheeks were burning and her heart was acting unusual. The more Sasuke kept talking, the more she was starting to agree with her sister, she might have feelings that were more than respect and admiration for Naruto.

“So,” she said softly only slightly louder than Sasuke’s footsteps and the sound of her own heart beating in her ears. All of this was so new to her. Why couldn’t she just have the same status quo for at least a year before some life-altering revelation changed everything. “What do we do?”

Sasuke took a breath before throwing herself onto the bed, their hips touching. Silence lingered between them, it was the usual Uchiha brand of silence that was the quiet regard for things, she had almost forgotten the noise thanks to Naruto. She found that she no longer cared for it. She fell backward, joining her sister on the bed.

“Am I allowed to be selfish?” Sasuke almost laughed, her forearm resting on her forehead, the smallest of smiles overpowering the usual scowl. 

She wasn’t being selfish. “Sure.”

“You and Naruto are the two most important people in my life. I don’t want to lose either of you, I don’t want either of you to suffer.” A bitter laugh came from her sister, she grabbed her arm and followed it to her hand where they entwined their fingers. Something they hadn’t done in years. 

“That’s not selfish Sasuke.”

Sasuke tightened her grip. “It’s worse than that. Much worse. I know I’m possessive, jealous, cold, callous, and a giant bitch.” She wanted to protest but Sasuke continued. “It makes me so angry just thinking about you falling in love with someone and leaving me. Almost as angry as the thought of Naruto leaving me. You’re my sister, and I love you.” 

“We’re family Sasuke, I love you too.” After so many years of upholding that Uchiha silence letting that out was wonderful. Honesty, not just in words, but in emotions as well, what a wonderful influence Naruto had. 

“Can I ask something crazy then?” 

“Sure,” 

Sasuke was on top of her, holding both of her hands out and away from her, her legs were parted by Sasuke’s knee and their breaths mingled in the air. “Kiss me.” 

“What?” Also that wasn’t a question! That was a demand? Did she mean on the cheek? She’d never kiss anyone before. She only ever got kissed by her mother a few times on the forehead. But kissing her sister seemed so foreign and wasn’t that morally wrong? Why was Sasuke looking at her like that? “What?”

“If there’s a romantic connection between us then it will be easier to share Naruto.” Sasuke didn’t so much as bat an eye, the only indication that she was affected by this at all was the small blush that stained her sister's cheeks. “Besides, I have to admit, I am slightly attracted to girls.”

Was she being seduced? Was she being seduced by her own sister? Why did she want to kiss her? What was this about sharing Naruto? What did that mean? How did it get to this? Why couldn’t they just have more nights like when they watched the movies and they both fell asleep on Naruto, that was all she needed. 

Again, why was she the sane one? 

Her throat seized preventing what few words she dared to think of. Her heart was beating against her chest, pounding faster and faster as she felt everything about her life is turned on its side once more. 

Even when Sasuke released her she did not so much as move. Her mind too busy trying to figure out what the heck was happening with her life to send a command to her muscles. 

“Wait here.” Sasuke didn’t wait for the response that never came, she vanished through the door. Every footfall was a sign that guided her along Sasuke’s path, her heart somehow pounding faster as the destination became clear; Naruto. 

The blood surging to her ears deafened her to the outside world save for a few of Naruto’s loud and confused noises that made her lips twitching into a smile against her own will. Sasuke was right. She was in love with Naruto. But what did that mean? 

Sasuke wanted to share him. But did that mean being with her sister? What was she supposed to do? 

There was some shouting from Sasuke, slightly louder confused noises from Naruto. Then a moment later the door was opened, and Naruto was thrown in looking like a lost kid at the market.

Still laying on the bed she stared at him wide-eyed. Being made aware of her feelings made everything a thousand times worse. He was so. So. Dammit, she understood why Sasuke hated the fact that she was in love with him. But at the same time, just looking at him reminded her of that wonderful feeling she had when they went to the lake, or when they all watched a movie. 

Naruto looked at her then at the door, then once more back to her, a single finger pointed towards the door. “So, uhh is there a reason why Sasuke told me to seduce you?” 

Heart racing, eyes wide, adrenaline pumping: flight or fight response; that most basic of instincts was now robbing her of her ability to move. Her mouth shrunk, robbing of her ability to breath let alone speak. All she could do was watch Naruto as he smiled like the adorkable goofball he was. 

It only made things worse. Why the hell can’t she just go back to two hours ago and just resume doing mundane chores with Naruto? Things were good. They didn’t need to change. But she couldn’t stop it. 

“Wait, she’s serious?” Naruto’s face scrunched up and he sat next to her on the bed. That made things worse! Her heart was racing. Was he going to follow through with it? “Has she lost her mind?” 

The warmth of her cheeks was too great to ignore, it was like staring into a furnace. She turned her head, trying her best to cool her face and calm her heart. Even her stomach was a twisted bundle of nerves that was fluttering with delight and nauseous with nervousness. A smile escaped her. “Well, she is dating you.” 

“Hey!” Naruto whined, he let out a huff and crossed his arms, she felt his weight shift on the bed. “She was like that way before we started dating.” 

She swallowed her throat dry and her pulse was still climbing. The bed sheet was balled tight into her hands. What was she supposed to do in a situation like this? There was no reference for a situation like this! It was a thousand times worse than when Kisame joked that she was a spy for Konoha. At least then she could just glare. But she couldn’t do that here. 

The first person she had romantic feelings for was sitting on her bed, with the door closed, while her sister, that was also his girlfriend and also in love with him, were standing next to the door likely with her ear pressed to it like a preteen girl hungry for gossip. What the heck was she supposed to do in a situation like this? 

“So,” Her eyes went wide and she felt Naruto’s hand fall on top of the bare skin of her arm. It burned like fire, her stomach roiled like a thunderstorm, and her heart fluttered. “Umm, did something happen? I didn’t mess anything up did I?” 

“No,” she muttered, pressing her face further into the sheets. She wiggled her arm slowly until her hand found Naruto’s. Her hands must have gotten soft, Naruto’s were so rough, dirt from the garden still clung to him, just like her and Sasuke in a way. “But I did find something out.” 

“Please tell me it’s a good thing.” Naruto squeezed her hand. “Does it have anything to do with Sasuke being weird? Well weirder.” 

Another nod. “It’s why Sasuke tried to kiss me.” 

“Like on the forehead or something?” 

“Lips.” 

She could hear Naruto’s mouth open and close, each time he would sigh and make a confused noise. “And that’s why she wants me to seduce you?” 

She nodded once more biting her lip and trying to gather up all the courage left in her body. 

“Why?” 

“Because,” she breathed, “I might,” The world seemed to fall out from her, leaving just her and Naruto floating in an empty void. “Love you?” 

“Oh, um… and this is the kind of love that would make Sasuke want to kiss you?” his hand pulled away from hers - she gave no resistance. He stood up, leaving her alone on the bed. “And why she wants me to seduce you?” 

“Yea.” rejection hurt more than she would have thought. What would it mean for the future? Would she be able to live with Naruto and Sasuke? No, she needed they were happy here, she didn’t need love. She spun to try and stop him, to explain herself. 

A kiss. Her lips met Naruto’s, his blue eyes stared into her and she found herself melting into the gesture, erasing the unease she had been feeling as that kiss spread through her body like hot water through frozen pipes. 

It was either far too long or far too short when they separated. 

“I uh,” Naruto stuttered, pulling away and running a hand through his hair. “I was uhh going to kiss you on the cheek, and umm say that we should all talk about this later. I mean, you’re important to me Itachi. So I mean, look, you rest here and I’ll get Sasuke and we’ll umm talk over dinner okay?” 

Her hand fell to her burning lips as they twitched into a smile. “Sure.”


	11. Chapter 11

The table she often ate dinner with Sasuke and Naruto with was adorned with a red felt fabric that looked soft to the touch, and a pair of candles sat in the center, lit despite the sun still shining strong. The plates her and Naruto had washed hours ago sat neatly next on square napkins flanked by silverware.

She blinked, sniffing at the air that was thick with spices and sauces, it was a very distinctive smell that she had suffered far too many times; Sasuke’s cooking. While her sister was talented in many aspects of life, she also lacked in pretty much everything domesticated, this was especially true for cooking. Not that her sister’s cooking was bad it was just, interesting. 

A sizzle came from the kitchen and the tale tell scent of red wine was added to the unusual odor that now permeated the house. It’d take weeks to get the scent out of the house, and it’d be easier just to destroy whatever pan Sasuke was ruining. 

“I think,” She paused reaching down to pick up one of the lit candles. It was a round scented candle that Sakura had given Sasuke for her birthday last year, the kind meant for a path or for a quiet night. Not dinner, the other candle was at least decorative. “I think they’re trying to seduce me.” 

The thought of that accidental kiss with Naruto had her face flush as her heart began to flutter especially when she mixed in his parting words to her. It got even worse when she remembered what Sasuke had tried to do a few hours ago. Maybe she should just go back to bed and skip dinner? 

That sounded like a great idea, that way she could just stay in there until Naruto and Sasuke stopped taking crazy pills. She should hurry before -

The air shifted, colors became warmer, more vibrant. This was the effect Naruto had on her now, how had she not noticed it before? 

“How was your nap?” Naruto asked pulling out a chair and making a sweeping gesture with his arms. His hair was still wet, and he smelled really clean and good. A tight black shirt clung to his torso almost like as second skin, reminding her of how well she remembered his body when they went to the lake. They should do that again. 

She took the seat, hands in her lap, and stared at the spot across from her occupied only by the wall. She was going to be flanked by Naruto and Sasuke. No escape, not a chance, not now. She adjusted her silverware the smallest amount before her hands retreated to her lap once more. What was she going to do? “It was nice, thank you.”

Naruto’s hands fell to her shoulders, his thumbs digging in and working at her muscles in a way that was painful at first but then quickly began to feel good. “Wow, you’re tense, don’t worry, just give me a bit I’ll loosen you up.”

Why did this feel good? What was he doing? Why didn’t she understand? How did him knowing that she was in love with him change the meaning behind his every action? Wait, he really was seducing her! They hadn’t even eaten, wasn’t this too soon?

“What are you doing?” Shut mutter, fighting back against a sudden need to gasp as his thumbs found something. Was her shoulder supposed to feel like that? There was a pop and it felt like everything in her body had just vanished, like she was merely a soul floating in a bubble bath. It took what little strength she could muster to sit upright and not fall face first into the table. 

A moan escaped her and she rolled her eyes, escaping back into his wonderful touch. 

Naruto laughed, his hand leaving her and replaced by his elbow assaulting her spine with pinpoint accuracy. “Did I tell you Jiraiya taught me how to give massages? I just thought you might enjoy a little one with how stressed you were.” 

“I was stressed?” She asked eyes rolling in her head as her head lulled to Naruto’s motions. 

“Big time.” 

“Ah,” She had no ability to question him, protest, his every motion finding some new way to loosen her up. 

His hands returned to her shoulders once more, closer to the neck, his fingers digging into those muscles in the most wonderful way possible. “So, I talked to Sasuke about it a bit,” 

“Hmm.” About what?

“And we talked about what she wants, a lot,” He coughed, his fingers still working magic. “And well, we also talked about what’s appropriate, and uh, she might be a sistercon.” 

“A what?” Her head lulled to the side, her hair followed splashing down onto her shoulder. 

“It’s a word that Sakura used to describe Hinata’s little sister Hanabi, and apparently it fits Sasuke. Basically, it means Sister complex, in that Sasuke who is your little sister.” Things that she knew. “Is in love with you.” Again, she knew this. “In a romantic sense.” 

That brought her back and blushing into the reality, but still held down by Naruto’s wonderful massage. He tricked her! “What? She is? Since when? Why? How? I’m confused? How come I didn’t know?” 

“Well, you Uchiha girls tend to keep your emotions bottled up, fortunately, us Uzumaki’s are basically universal bottle openers.” She felt his chuckle carry through her body and dancing on her fingertips before fading away. “And apparently we’re also good at getting them to fall in love.” 

He thumbed her ear and she melted down into her chair. This wasn’t fair! Why couldn’t this be something ninja-related? or even house related, anything but dealing with being social, and especially being in love. Then his hands left her and he finally stepped away, leaving her cold in the room. 

“But, like I said, this is your choice, I’m lucky enough to have you in my life already Itachi. I never really had a family, so you can choose to fill whatever role you want.” Naruto walked towards the kitchen. His nails scraped the wall before he turned into the room where Sasuke was still cooking and had likely heard everything that Naruto had said. “But, I don’t think Sasuke’s going to-”

He was silenced by a ladle slapping him in the face. 

XXXX

It was hard to say what exactly Sasuke was trying to cook; other than in some vague sense of the word it could be called food, in much the same way decorative fruit could be called food. The soup smelled burnt, the noodles were still stiff, the mystery meat looked ready to evolve into a new and unusual creature that would overpopulate quickly because no creature was crazy enough to eat it. 

As to how her sister could sit there looking as prideful as always she hadn’t a clue. 

The only things that looked edible were the store-bought buns, the rice, and the wine. Her own coffee mug of wine was especially full. Poured courtesy of Sasuke. 

“You suck at cooking.” The noodles in Naruto’s mouth gave a crunch when he chewed them. A lot. It was almost impressive how much he chewed and how much they crunched. Her mouth hurt just looking at him. 

Sasuke snorted, leveling her fork at him. “You’re the one that was too lazy to cook, besides I didn’t make this for you. If I did I would have made better ramen.” 

What part of this was ramen?

“There’s nothing even remotely ramen-related here.” 

“There’s noodles.”

“I thought these were terrible french fries.”

“Broth.”

“Burnt soup?”

“Pork?” 

“Is it supposed to be moving.”

It was pork?

Sasuke folded her arms and glared at Naruto like she was planning a thousand deaths for him. “You’re lucky I love you more than I hate you.” 

Her fork scrapped against her plate and both Naruto and Sasuke turned to look at her. Did her sister really have feelings for her? Of the romantic type! There was no doubt that her sister loved and cared for her and she did as well. But, how many different types? 

“What do you think Itachi?” Naruto asked. 

Sasuke leaned in a smile that she would never trust on her face. “Yea sister, what do you think about our dinner?” 

“What do I think?” She asked mostly to herself. And they both nodded. She sipped from her wine. It tasted funny. 

“Yea.” Naruto nodded, beaming like the sun at midday, while Sasuke’s sinister smile reminded her of the waning moon. “Come on, tell us what you really think.”

“What I really think?” She asked, and they nodded again. What she really thought, what did she really think? What she thought was, what she thought was, what she thought.

“This has to be the worst meal you have ever made, you did absolutely everything wrong! You gave me a plate instead of a bowl for your soup which I’m fairly certain is burnt. The meat is already plotting its revenge against you, I’m fairly certain you bought it at the store and didn’t even take it out of the plastic wrap. I have one teaspoon, two butter knives, a chopstick, the napkin under my plate is one of my dish rags, I’m drinking wine from a coffee cup, you’re using a scented candle for decoration, and I just realized that you’re using a throw as a tablecloth.” 

Her voice was even throughout that whole exchange and she kept her eyes forward, barely moving as she went down the list. She took a breath and stood. “The fact that both of you thought that this was a good idea makes me question how you would function without me, and that thought scares me. Now then, I’m going to go get us take-out and rent a movie or two, while I’m gone I expect all of this to be either fixed, cleaned, or destroyed.” 

She saw the smiles both of them wore, as she turned to get her wallet. It didn’t matter if whatever scheme they had come up with worked, or even if there was a scheme and she was just making a fool of herself. It felt wonderful letting her emotions out like that. Naruto might be a can opener, but Sasuke was quickly learning those tricks as well. 

“I told you it would work,” Naruto muttered behind her, while Sasuke snorted. 

She really should just go out and eat on her own. But that was awkward. And besides, she wanted to snuggle with Naruto during the movie.


	12. Chapter 12

“I now pronounce you man and wife.” The words sent a gush of feelings that made her fingers tingle, her cheeks were already numb from how much she had been smiling today and tears threatened to ruin her carefully placed makeup. Today marked yet another happiness she had experienced because of Naruto and Sasuke. And it would not be the last. 

Naruto blushed, holding back his laughter, and doing his best to hide his embarrassment as all eyes were on him and Sasuke. To say he looked handsome in his black kimono would be an understatement, everything about it was so perfectly in place so that it amplified his strong build and highlighted his wild blond hair. Thankfully they talked him out of a mustache. 

And Sasuke with her lack of social graces still managed to look every bit the beautiful rose, her white kimono highlighted by a deep red fabric. The red was woven into her hair as well in two braids that hung off of her hair, it was one of the rare times when her sister's hair was anything outside of bedhead and woven into an elegant design. The only make up her sister would accept, and required even, was a bright red that shined like blood and made her pale skin pop. 

Her own dress was modest by comparison to the other bridesmaids, a solid black number that reached her knees but left her shoulders exposed was pinned with a deep red rose near her neck. While it was nothing special, it was still the fanciest thing she had worn in years. Despite her best intentions and Naruto’s encouragement, her wardrobe remained plainlypractical. 

“Don’t look at them, just kiss me!” Sasuke hissed, her voice only loud enough for those closest to hear them, but her body language spoke volumes; this was her special day and she did not want anybody else to be here. 

“Oh, right.” Naruto said - loudly - and touched Sasuke cheek pulling her into a soft kiss that left the whole room cheering in delight at the act.

Somehow, despite all of their protests, the wedding turned into a political affair with leaders from all over coming to see the union between her sister and Naruto. She recognized more than a few of those that attended as the Jinchuriki, some now important members of their village and the peace that had fallen across the lands. 

But that was a lifetime ago. 

Naruto held his fist up, as though he was claiming victory over some long fight, an act that Sasuke put down in the middle of their first kiss as husband and wife. Their rings shining in the low sun was still hours away from touching the horizon. To the whole world, they were now in a union. 

But, that was what they wanted them to see. It was just simpler not to explain their relationship to the world, simpler to act like nothing was different, and she had, to be honest, seeing her sister squirm under the gaze of so many people expecting her to be ladylike was a treat she would savor for years to come. 

“I guess you’re next huh Itachi?” The pink haired girl, Sakura, nudged her, smiling and pointing down towards her hand. Sakura was perhaps the closest thing she had to a friend - in that when she saw her in the wilderness of Konoha she didn’t feel obligated to say hello and nod, but did so anyways - outside of Naruto and Sasuke that is. Sakura pointed towards her ring finger a curious look on her face. “That’s a beautiful ring.” 

“Oh, this, it's nothing,” She smiled, thumbing over the smooth gold band that Naruto had given her this morning. His logic being that because Sasuke got one, she needed one too. The gesture was sweet but wholly unnecessary. Yet, she couldn’t help but wear it. “It’s just something I received from someone dear to me is all.”

“Oh,” The girl looked confused, “Then why are you wearing it on that finger?” 

“Because that’s where I like it.” She nodded towards the crowd to draw Sakura’s attention away from her, a tactic that she had learned in her youth. Her eyes fell upon one young man that had been staring at Sakura for the whole ceremony, his mouth slack. “And I fear you might be next if you aren’t careful.” 

Sakura stammered and blushed, despite the control the girl projected, she broke down quickly enough. 

XXXX

Saturday, it was the one day of the week where all three of them didn’t have to do anything. It was a day of wants, a slow lumbering day that managed to stretch out for far too long but pass all too quickly. It was her favorite day as well. The winter season she could do without. 

She opened her eyes to the pale light peering through the window and the bitter chill the existed just outside of the covers and the natural warmth that Naruto projected. If she wanted to make the most of Saturday then it would serve her to wake them up. But, if she simply fell back asleep cuddling with Naruto while her hand touched Sasuke’s then she’d really be making the most of her Saturday. 

She shifted scooting upwards to further bury her face against Naruto’s chest and hold him tighter. A gasp escaped her when she found Sasuke’s foot. While Naruto was a heater Sasuke acted as a heatsink, her limbs always cold even in the summer, a power that she adored to exploit on both of them. 

The cold foot assaulted her finding her bare leg and pressing up against it. A wicked smile on her sister’s face. 

She retreated, gathering up as much of her body as she could and cuddling against Naruto so that her head nearly touched his. The chill of their room was far less harsh than Sasuke’s icy limbs. 

Sasuke looked at her, eyes hidden behind a thin veil of hair and barely a glint of her teeth visible. Apparently, her sister was wide awake if it meant inflicting suffering on others. Moments later she felt something against her nightshirt, and Sasuke’s bony fingers began to tickle her. 

The cold was too much and she let out a yelp, no doubt she had frostbite just from touching the ice queen in such a way. 

A groan came from the pillow they were fighting over and Sasuke let out a yelp as Naruto picked her up with one arm and slamming her down onto the bed right beside her, the blankets still covering them. Naruto loomed over them, keeping them blocked off from the rest of the world with his arms. He gave a yawn and tried to stretch the sleep from his body. “It’s too early for this.”

Then he crashed down on top of them, squashing them with his bulk. 

“Jerk!” Sasuke gasped from the other side of him. “Get off me Naruto!” 

“No! You two are being loud!” Naruto mumbled pressing his face against her chest, teeth biting at the fabric of her nightshirt like it was an offense to his existence. He had tried to implement a no shirt rule, but he was quickly outvoted. “Besides,” He huffed, earning a gasp from Sasuke as his hand was up to no good on that side of the bed. “You two always get to use me as a pillow, now it’s my turn!”

She began to pat his head, her other arm pinned under his body in a way that was both comfortable and uncomfortable. Her lips touched the tip of his skull and he turned to look up at her smiling before sharing a kiss. “If you let us get up I’ll let you rest your head on my lap while we watch a movie.” 

“Five more minutes.” He buried his face back into her chest. It was probably more comfortable than the thrashing Sasuke was doing. 

“To hell with that! Get off me you giant asshole!” Sasuke’s leg flung out from the covers, her bare skin exposed to the cold. She stopped flailing much like someone wading into cold water for the first time. Then her leg shot back in. “Nevermind, shut up and hold me tighter, dammit its cold.” 

Just one among many reasons why she adored Saturdays. She sighed and pulled in tight joining the cuddle pile and embarrassing her family once more. Everything was so perfect, and there was nothing that was going to disrupt her flow. 

“Oh,” Sasuke’s voice drifted up from the covers. “I should probably tell you both that I’m pregnant.” 

Almost nothing that is.


End file.
